New Delhi: Internet users now find temporary joy in quick videos, memes, and other social media content. Users are entertained by the amusing, clever, or innovative material and are kept glued to the app for hours. While you might believe that laughing at memes or sharing videos with friends can improve your relationships, skimming through social media can really make you feel stressed, anxious, and depressed.
Social media use, loneliness, and psychological distress in emerging adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis finds that people who use social media passively (only consuming content created by others) are more likely to feel lonely and experience psychological distress than people who use it actively (sharing their own content and interacting with others).
To investigate the association between various social media usage habits and feelings of loneliness and psychological discomfort, a team of researchers surveyed 288 people between the ages of 18 and 34. The study looked at three different kinds of social media use:
Passive use: People who just consume content made by other people fell into this category.
Active non-social use: People who posted their own content but did not interact with other users fell into this category.
Active Social Use: Individuals who posted their own content and engaged in social interaction fell under the category of active social users.
The study's goal was to investigate the relationship between various social media activities and psychological distress and feelings of isolation. The study's findings showed a link between increased levels of anxiety, sadness, and stress and increased time spent passively using social media.
But the study also found that posting and sharing content on social media without engaging with individuals directly had a beneficial effect on lowering stress.
