Instagram, Facebook, Twitter… People who consume a lot of social networks have more nightmares about them.
- Heavy social media users have many nightmares about it, new research suggests.
- “As social media becomes increasingly woven into our lives, its impact extends beyond waking hours and can influence our dreams,” says study author Reza Shabahang (Flinders University).
- “People who use social media a lot in their daily lives are more likely to have nightmares, which have been linked to negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression. Sleep quality is also impacted by this phenomenon,” he adds.
The more we use social networks, the more nightmares related to this activity develop, thus decreasing the quality of sleep and increasing anxiety-depressive symptoms. These are the conclusions from a new study published in BMC Psychology.
To conduct their study, the researchers surveyed 595 adult social media users in Iran. To be part of the cohort, all had to use at least one digital platform for at least 15 minutes per day. Examples include TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Social networks: what are the most common nightmares?
After analysis, it appeared that nightmares were reported more frequently by people who heavily integrated social media into their daily lives. The most reported nightmare was about not being able to connect to social media, followed by arguments with other users. Sexual harassment and online identity theft were among the least common bad dreams.
“As social media becomes increasingly intertwined with our lives, its impact extends beyond waking hours and can influence our dreams,” explains study author Reza Shabahang (Flinders University).
“People who use social media a lot in their daily lives are more likely to experience nightmares, which have been linked to negative mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression. Sleep quality is also impacted by this phenomenon,” he adds.
“With the rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality, it is expected that dreams featuring this type of technological content will become more common,” he continues. “Future studies could analyze this new field,” he concludes.
Repeated nightmares caused by social networks: what are the impacts?
Having poor quality sleep due to social media leads to cardiovascular disease, weakens the immune system, encourages snacking, pushes people to drink alcohol, triggers the desire to smoke tobacco, lowers concentration levels, reduces the ability to learn or achieve goals, affects our ability to take a step back from situations, increases irritability, stress and anxiety.
In addition to their major impact on quality of life, anxiety and depression can also lead to a whole series of health problems such as weight gain and/or diabetes.
