Loneliness Linked To Negative Social Media Experiences, Study Finds
Alice G. Walton, Contributor, Forbes
We’ve been hearing more and more about loneliness, and the “loneliness epidemic,” in recent years, as research has stared to lay out both its causes and effects. There are likely many reasons for this increasing psychological/societal issue, but one that’s almost certainly involved is our dependence on screens, and in particular social media. And a new study from the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University finds that social media use—or at least negative experiences on social—is linked to more feelings of social isolation, a.k.a. loneliness. (And below is a worthwhile infographic on loneliness.)
The team had previously reported that in college students, negative social media experiences were linked to depression: for every 10% rise in negative social media interactions a person experienced, their risk of depression rose significantly—by 20%. [more]