After the global outage of Facebook, Instagram, and some WhatsApp features, a certain general “desperation” was felt over the lack of these social media platforms. How do I update my profiles? How do I send that voice message to share the news? How do I go without keeping up with updates through stories?
A part of thousands of people's lives was lost without social media. And this event was criticized by experts on TV shows the following day, as well as by users of Facebook itself once the platform came back online.
Contrary to popular opinion, a study conducted by Michigan State University (MSU) with more than 13,000 people found that social media like Facebook can help prevent depression and anxiety.
Unlike most studies, which typically focus on younger people, this one specifically looked at people aged 30 and older, and found that these adults are 63% less likely to show signs of depression or anxiety and 1.63x more likely to avoid a mental health issue than others who don't use these media.
Media professor Keith Hampton states that this result can be explained by the following factors:
- The ease of communication that platforms like Facebook provide, which helps maintain relationships with distant friends and family;
- Access to mental health-related information, encouraging people to seek professional help.
The explanation for the difference in results between this study and others related to social media use lies exactly in the age group evaluated. While young people develop depression, anxiety, and heightened self-criticism, older populations are finding a new sense of connection and ease in their lives.
To get an idea of the opposite effect on young people, a survey conducted by the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH) found that depression among young people is currently 25% more common than it was 25 years ago. This is often due to unrealistic expectations, feelings of inadequacy, and excessive use of social media, which can lead to addiction.
In contrast to this and several other studies showing negative responses to social media like Instagram, WhatsApp, and even Twitter, which has been making a strong comeback, Facebook's director of research David Ginsberg and researcher Moira Burke argued that usage can also have positive impacts on mental health, a theory supported by the MSU study:
“Actively interacting with people — especially sharing messages, posts, and comments with close friends, and looking back on past interactions — is linked to improvements in well-being.”
What do you think? Does social media do us good or harm? Or does it depend on some other factor? Chat with us in the comments and follow our social media to keep up with the next posts on On's blog.
