One study linked social media use to body inflammation levels.
- Inflammation is the body’s immediate response to injury to its tissues and cells.
- Inflammation has already been linked to many health problems, from heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis.
- People with higher levels of inflammation tend to use social media more frequently, according to a new study.
People with higher levels of inflammation tend to use social media more frequently, according to a new study.
Inflammation is the body’s immediate response to injury to its tissues and cells caused by pathogens, dangerous stimuli, or physical injury.
Inflammation has already been linked to many health problems, from heart disease to rheumatoid arthritis.
Inflammation and social networks: how to establish the link?
To test whether this state could influence the mind, researchers conducted three studies with a combined total of 524 undergraduate students from three different Canadian universities. These students provided blood samples to measure their levels of C-reactive protein, an established indicator of systemic inflammation. They also completed questionnaires about their social media habits, collecting details such as frequency, type and duration of their use.
Even after adjusting for potentially confounding variables, such as gender, personality traits, and depressive symptoms, a clear trend emerged: students with higher C-reactive protein levels reported more use frequent and more prolonged use of social media.
“The present study found that systemic inflammation is associated with greater social media use among young adults,” said the researchers, calling their results “intriguers”.
Inflammation and social networks: the limits of the study
The study, however, has some limitations. The research in fact combined the results of three individual studies, each with its own methodology and sample. It is therefore difficult to make direct comparisons. The study also measured social media usage generally, without looking at specific behaviors on different platforms that might offer more nuanced insights.
According to the latest Médiamétrie survey, the French surfed on average 2 hours 18 minutes per day on the internet in 2022, mainly via their smartphone (which represents 75% of the time spent online, Editor’s note). 15-24 year olds are the biggest consumers of the Web, with 4 hours on average per day, 93% of which are on mobile.