Social Media Use Only Helps, and Does Not Harm, Daily Interactions and Well-Being
In two studies we explore how different levels of social networking sites (SNSs) use affect the psychological constructs of well-being, social connection, and social capital. Conducting two studies and using a multi day experimental design in both an individualistic (United Kingdom [U.K.]) and a collectivistic (Bulgaria [BG]) society, we investigated differences in the effects of abstaining from SNS use, overuse, and normal use. Participants (U.K. n = 116; BG. n = 120) in the two within-subject studies reported on connectedness and two types of social capital (bridging; bonding), and their well-being, on days in which they had lower use of social media, used it as normal, or overused it.
Wolney, C. M., Dunne, N., Harriger, A., & Herrig, J. (2023). Social media abstinence and face-to-face interactions: Friendships and conversations after cessation of social media use. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 4(2). https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/social-media-abstinence-and-interactions/release/1
For the U.K. sample, social connection, in particular, served as an independent mediator linking lower use days to lower well-being, in contrast with normal use days. Suddenly lowering one’s social media use might lead to people experiencing less connected to others, thus impacting their well-being. However, overuse of SNS platforms is still under-explored, thus people should regulate their SNS use in an optimal way which best supports their daily lives.
