It is a common assumption that Social Media platforms, especially Facebook, negatively impact the mental health of people. Moreover, Facebook’s recent scandals have only induced privacy concerns in its users. However, a new research claims that such types of platforms have a positive effect on an adult’s mental health.
A research conducted last year revealed that spending around 30 minutes daily on social media could improve mental health.
Moreover, a professor of media and information at Michigan State University named Keith Hampton also studied the effects of using Facebook, on adults.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 50 million US adults suffer from some type of mental illness such as depression, anxiety etc.
Professor Keith believes that the reason why previous studies conducted on the effects of Social Media on mental health generated negative results is that they were centered on students and young people already experiencing stress and other emotional issues.
Prof. Hampton collected survey results of countless adults who participated in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) in 2015 and 2016, regarding the use of social media and its effects on their mental health.
The PSID was crafted in such a way that it became easier to understand if and how members were related to each other. In both 2015 and 2016, around 5,100 people took the survey and out of those, 3,790 had extended family members taking the survey as well.
Not only that, Prof. Hampton also considered social causation as a factor in his research. Social causation refers to the social factors impacting mental health in ways that cannot be controlled by an individual.
According to the results, around 63% of social media users had a lower chance of suffering from mental health problem than those who stay away from these platforms. The main reason behind it can be that staying in contact with extended family members through Social Media prevents users from feeling depressed or alone. Additionally, having access to health information is another plus.
The study results also demonstrated that particular adult groups were more prone to suffering from higher levels of psychological turmoil than others. The groups include women, Hispanic people or even African American people. Other factors such as education, income, marital status, residential stability etc. were also found to play a significant part in affecting a person’s mental health.
Long story short, various different factors were considered and the above mentioned details are just tip of the iceberg. The results could be found in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
Read next: Positive Effects of WhatsApp on Health as Identified by Researchers
A research conducted last year revealed that spending around 30 minutes daily on social media could improve mental health.
Moreover, a professor of media and information at Michigan State University named Keith Hampton also studied the effects of using Facebook, on adults.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 50 million US adults suffer from some type of mental illness such as depression, anxiety etc.
Professor Keith believes that the reason why previous studies conducted on the effects of Social Media on mental health generated negative results is that they were centered on students and young people already experiencing stress and other emotional issues.
Prof. Hampton collected survey results of countless adults who participated in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) in 2015 and 2016, regarding the use of social media and its effects on their mental health.
The PSID was crafted in such a way that it became easier to understand if and how members were related to each other. In both 2015 and 2016, around 5,100 people took the survey and out of those, 3,790 had extended family members taking the survey as well.
Not only that, Prof. Hampton also considered social causation as a factor in his research. Social causation refers to the social factors impacting mental health in ways that cannot be controlled by an individual.
- Also read: Facebook’s Efforts to Integrate Safety Checks to Leave a Positive Hand Print on the World
According to the results, around 63% of social media users had a lower chance of suffering from mental health problem than those who stay away from these platforms. The main reason behind it can be that staying in contact with extended family members through Social Media prevents users from feeling depressed or alone. Additionally, having access to health information is another plus.
The study results also demonstrated that particular adult groups were more prone to suffering from higher levels of psychological turmoil than others. The groups include women, Hispanic people or even African American people. Other factors such as education, income, marital status, residential stability etc. were also found to play a significant part in affecting a person’s mental health.
Long story short, various different factors were considered and the above mentioned details are just tip of the iceberg. The results could be found in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.
Read next: Positive Effects of WhatsApp on Health as Identified by Researchers
