Social media is making us lonelier

We’ve all been in a public place, waiting for a friend to arrive or simply dining, traveling, or sitting alone, and opened an app to avoid “awkward” eye contact with those around us. And it is common for social anxiety sufferers to open social media apps to temporarily feel some connection to others. But when they unplug, the feeling of connection dissipates. Furthermore, frequently viewing curated snapshots of other people’s lives might leave social media users feeling as if everyone else has a better life, is smarter, funnier, more interesting, has more friends, etc. The impulse to believe this illogical notion can be even stronger for social media users with low self-esteem.

Social media sites designed to help people connect are actually causing them to feel more alone, say psychologists. The more time young adults spend on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, the more likely they are to feel cut off from the rest of society, a study has found. More than two hours of social media use a day doubles the chances of a person experiencing social isolation. Higher numbers of visits to social media sites have a negative effect as well as the amount of time spent online, a US research shows.

The finding is surprising because online forums seem to fit Tim Berners-Lee’s vison. Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, said in his book Weaving the Web that, “The Web is more a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect—to help people work together—and not as a technical toy. The ultimate goal of the Web is to support and improve our web-like existence in the world. We clump into families, associations, and companies. We develop trust across the miles and distrust around the corner”.

Three billion people, around 40% of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to some reports. That breaks down to around half a million tweets and pictures shared every minute. With social media playing such a big part in our lives, could we be sacrificing our mental health and well-being as well as our time?

Study participants who visited various sites 58 or more times per week were three times more at risk of isolation than those visiting less than nine times per week. Lead scientist Professor Brian Primack, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said: “This is an important issue to study because mental health problems and social isolation are at epidemic levels among young adults. “We are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together.

“While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for.” The team questioned 1,787 adults aged 19 to 32 about their use of the 11 most popular social media platforms at the time the research was conducted in 2014: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pintrest, Vine and LinkedIn. The link with isolation was found even after taking account of social and demographic factors that might have influenced the results. The average time spent on social media was 61 minutes a day. People who spent more than 121 minutes a day on social media had about twice the odds of feeling isolated than those spending less than 30 minutes a day on these sites, the findings showed.

Another study, Social Media Use and Perceived Social Isolation Among Young Adults in the US published in July 2017 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine repeats the same finding. Social isolation, a state in which an individual lacks a sense of social belonging, true engagement with others, and fulfilling relationships, is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Social isolation has often been compared to obesity in terms of potential association with negative health effects. Social isolation also is known to be associated with unnatural increases in cortisol patterns, and these aberrant patterns can disrupt sleep, immune function, and cognition. Social isolation also affects gene expression, negatively impacting vascular and mental health.

Recent increases in social media use (SMU) via platforms such as Facebook may provide opportunities for alleviation of perceived social isolation (PSI). However, it has been observed that SMU in the adults counter intuitively increases PSI. For example, frequent users may substitute SMU for face-to-face social interactions. Similarly, frequent exposure to highly distilled, unrealistic portrayals on social media may give people the impression that others are living happier, more connected lives, and this may make users feel more socially isolated in comparison.

A 2016 study by researchers at Penn State University suggested that viewing other people’s selfies lowered self-esteem, because users compare themselves to photos of people looking their happiest. Research from the University of Strathclyde, Ohio University and University of Iowa also found that women compare themselves negatively to selfies of other women. As suicides and mental health issues among students and young adults are on the rise, the role of social media is being increasingly scrutinised.

To use the internet in a way that creates real meaningful interactions we should keep a few concepts in mind:

• Use the internet as a real life community tool. Create or join an online community. Use the internet to organize group events, and see who is likely to come. Look around, get creative, and stay mentally fit.
• Keep an open mind. Listen to others, and don’t assume their situation is the same as yours. Sometimes people assume that people with similar values experience the world in the same way they do. The way we experience emotions, and mental health is different for everyone. Support others who support you.
• Use everything in moderation. Make sure you are exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep. Using the internet is fine as long as we take care of all of our needs. Use the internet to feel more connected, and to be happier. If we can be more self-aware of our habits, we can learn to control them to our benefit.