Tired of everyone telling you that social media is making you sad?
Now science says its might actually make you less stressed!
[DNews Open]
Hey guys, Julia here for DNews
Some people say technology is taking over our lives.
Over half of those online use two or more social networks.
Some worry this is making us more isolated and more stressed out as we try to keep up
with the joneses.
Recent study from the Pew Research Center suggests otherwise.
Social media can make us feel a little lonely, we have a constant stream of other people’s
business and it’s too easy to keep comparing ourselves to them.
People carefully craft their online personas and some people get stressed out from the
comparison.
But it’s like comparing your outtakes to everyone elses highlights.
And then there’s keeping up with yourself, just like other people try to position themselves
in a good light, you can get too wrapped up in doing the same.
Trying to show only your best angle, your wittiest statuses and your best days at work
and home.
And there’s the fact you're keeping up with other’s stress.
Using social media makes you more likely to be aware of the stress going on in the lives
of your family and friends.
This could make you your stress levels rise as well.
This is what researchers call “The Cost of Caring.”
Yet there’s a flipside to all of that.
Being better connected through technology means well, you’re better connected.
Previous studies show that active social media users, have more close friends, feel more
supported, are more trusting, and even more politically active than their disconnected
or less connected peers.
For this study, participants in the survey were asked about their social media use, what
websites they use and how they use them.
They found the link between social media and stress is pretty indirect.
But it did show that women seemed to benefit more than men from being better connected,
even though women report being more stressed overall.
On a Perceived Stress Scale, women reported overall stress levels 7% higher than men.
But with all the keeping up with the Joneses stuff, how is this possible?
How does social media reduce stress?
Well it’s a few things.
Women might be burdened with “maintaining household relationships” and typically,
they tend to share their emotional experiences more than men.
Social media allows for a low-demand easily accessible way to share.
It’s more efficient and saves time.
Also, there’s kind of a schadenfreude effect here.
Well the researchers say it’s a little nicer than that, they call it “the joy of missing
out.”
For some women who are more aware of stressful events in the people who aren’t so close
to them, their level of stress was lower by 6%.
I guess putting your stress into context and realizing you don’t have it as bad as that
other guy is kind of a relief.
And using these technologies more frequently can be key to being less stressed.
On average those women who send pictures through their phones, send and receive around 25 emails
a day and who more frequently use twitter, have 21% less stress than their peers who
don’t use any of these.
And these benefits aren’t entirely just for women.
Social media users of both genders report higher feelings of social support and are
more aware of the resources available in their network.
And like anything, how you use it matters.
So rather than just scrolling facebook and browsing twitter, interacting with PEOPLE
on these sites leads to a better feeling.
Just like in days of old, communicating, sharing and supporting make us feel better and feel
less stressed, we just have a new way of doing it.
For more information on this study and others like it check out the links in the description,
and check out THIS video, Tara will tell you the reason some people in your facebook feed
are prone to oversharing.
We all know that one guy.
What do you think?
do you feel close to people with texting and social media?
or does it make you feel lonely?
let us know in the comments below!