Positive and Negative Experiences on Social Media and Perceived Social Isolation

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the association between positive and negative experiences on social media (SM) and perceived social isolation (PSI). Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: One large mid-Atlantic University. Participants: A total of 1178 students aged 18 to 30 were recruited in August 2016. Measures: Participants completed an online survey assessing SM use and PSI. We assessed positive and negative experiences on SM by directly asking participants to estimate what percentage of their SM experiences involved positive and negative experiences, respectively. Social isolation was measured using the established Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures Information System scale. Analysis: We used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between both positive and negative experiences on SM and PSI. Primary models controlled for sex, age, race/ethnicity, educational status, relationship status, and living situation. Results: Participants had an average age of 20.9 (standard deviation = 2.9) and were 62% female. Just over one-quarter (28%) were nonwhite. After controlling for all sociodemographic covariates, each 10% increase in positive experiences was not significantly associated with social isolation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93-1.005). However, each 10% increase in negative experiences was associated with a 13% increase in odds of PSI (AOR = 1.13; 95% CI: 1.05-1.21). Conclusion: Having positive experiences on SM is not associated with lower social isolation, whereas having negative experiences on SM is associated with higher social isolation. These findings are consistent with the concept of negativity bias, which suggests that humans tend to give greater weight to negative entities compared with positive ones.

Social Isolation and Loneliness of Older Adults in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Can Use of Online Social Media Sites and Video Chats Assist in Mitigating Social Isolation and Loneliness?

“…For example, a recent study [10] among students aged 18–30 years showed that while having positive experiences on social network sites is not associated with social isolation, negative experiences on social network sites is associated with increased levels of social isolation. This suggests that humans weigh negative entities more than positive ones (negativity bias) [10]. Moreover, the intensity of using online social network sites should be investigated among older adults.…”

The Reciprocal Effects of Loneliness and Consumer Ethnocentrism in Online Behavior

“…Various studies have examined this phenomenon and found that social media communication is an unfulfilling form of interaction (Pittman, 2015; Pittman and Reich, 2016) and does not provide strong feelings of social support (Rains and Keating, 2011). Hence, high social media usage reportedly causes high social isolation and loneliness, which by extension worsens the mental well-being of social media users (Primack et al, 2017, 2019; Twenge et al, 2019). These findings prompted Facebook to publish a blog post which acknowledges that, in some cases, excessive social media usage can make the users feel worse.…”

Understanding Links Between Social Media Use, Sleep and Mental Health: Recent Progress and Current Challenges

“…Instead, in their 2016 systematic review of available evidence, Seabrook and colleagues stressed that associated (positive or negative) mental health outcomes depended strongly on a range of protective and risk factors around how users engaged with social media [13••]. These include perceived and actual levels of online social support [35][36][37], and the valence of individuals' social media content, interactions and social comparisons [38][39][40]. In the following section, we discuss key insights that have been gained in recent years from this approach to examining relevant social and emotional aspects of social media engagement and their implications for both sleep and mental health.…”