What role do social networks play in our well-being? This is the question that the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. They studied students between the ages of 18 and 22, comparing times when they use networks freely, and times when their consumption is limited. Results ? We feel better when we use them less.
Facebook rhymes with depression
In the United States, 68% of adults have a Facebook account, of which 75% consult it at least once a day. Research has already shown that Facebook and Instagram use is directly linked to symptoms of depression. Intense use of Facebook even lowers self-esteem and increases the feeling of loneliness, recalls the American study in the preamble.
The researchers therefore studied the behavior of 143 students at the University of Pennsylvania. They separated these students into two groups for three weeks, one group used social networks freely, the other had to limit its consumption to 30 minutes per day: 10 minutes of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat per day.
Less social media helps improve mental health
The goal ? Evaluate their mental health on 7 points: social support, loneliness, self-acceptance, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and FOMO. FOMO stands for: fear of missing out, or the fear of missing something when you are not connected to see what is happening on social networks.
At the end of the three weeks, they became interested in their psychological state. The group that cut back reported feeling less depressed and lonely. Anxiety and FOMO had decreased in both groups. If this study is limited to the use of smartphones and three social networks, it clearly underlines the importance of limiting their use.
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