A new study explores the links between social media use (SMU), psychological distress, and inhibitory attentional control, addressing inconsistencies in previous research. In contrast to past studies that have faced methodological limitations, the study aims to use objective measures for both SMU and inhibitory attentional control.
The study by Curtin University researchers has challenged the perception that heavy social media use significantly impacts mental health. It suggests little to no relationship between the two.
Research suggests that the amount of time spent on social media has little to no significant effect on mental health indicators like depression, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, the impact of social media use is not always negative, challenging earlier assumptions about its harmful effects.
Study lead and PhD candidate Chloe Jones said “it was important to stress that the findings don’t suggest social media use is harmless or has no impact on mental health; However, the relationship between the two likely has many complex layers.”
“For example, a connection to a supportive online community could be a lifeline for people living in isolation, but hours of scrolling Instagram influencers could be unhelpful if you have body image concerns.”
A digital detox may not improve wellbeing, study
In this study, researchers collected mobile phone data from more than 400 people aged 17 to 53. They then precisely quantified the time spent on social media in the past week.
The research team compared participants’ social media usage with their levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and attentional control. They found that social media use was only weakly associated with anxiety and had no significant link to depression or stress. Interestingly, a weak positive association was observed between social media use and attentional control, suggesting that more social media use might be slightly linked to better performance in maintaining attention.
Ms Jones said, “If we are going to make well-informed decisions in this space, they need to be based on quality data, and our research demonstrates that when you objectively measure time spent on social media, the effects are tiny or non-existent.”
Social media can improve lives post-disaster: study
Supervising author Associate Professor Patrick Clarke said, “The study could be the starting point for future research investigating how users interact with social media and what personal characteristics could influence the effects of social media use on mental health, for better or for worse.”
“For example, while all of the associations were weak at best, the study found different platforms recorded different effects: TikTok usage saw a small positive association with attentional control, while Facebook usage saw a small association with distress among users.”
“We did consider the age of users – we thought maybe TikTok users are just younger, and that’s why they have better attentional control – but even when allowing for age, that association was still there.”
“This study only considered the amount of time participants spent on social media, so this research could be flagging how long we spend on social media might matter less for mental health, as opposed to how we’re using it and engaging with it.”
Journal Reference:
- Chloe N. Jones, Daniel Rudaizky, Tamsin Mahalingham, et al. Investigating the links between objective social media use, attentional control, and psychological distress. Social Science & Medicine. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117400