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  3. Social media can have positive effect on wellbeing, Oxford Saïd study finds
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  3. Social media can have positive effect on wellbeing, Oxford Saïd study finds
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Social media can have positive effect on wellbeing, Oxford Saïd study finds

Thu, 9th April 2020

Published


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But only when platforms facilitate ‘genuinely social’ interaction

Time spent on social media can have a positive effect on your psychological well-being, researchers at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School have found.

 

But that is only the case when the platforms are used to facilitate genuine social interactions, such as engaging with close friends and family.

 

Using social media platforms in ways that did not facilitate genuinely social interactions were found to neither help nor hurt psychological wellbeing. So, following influencers or brands on apps like Instagram or consuming news on Twitter does not appear to make us any happier, the findings suggest.

 

The results are the preliminary findings of a multi-year research project that involved nearly 2,000 adult internet users, mainly in the US and UK. Unlike some prior research on social media, this study considered the impact on overall psychological wellbeing, which is a key factor in determining a person’s general level of happiness, rather than focusing on a narrow component of wellbeing such as self-esteem.

 

These findings are timely for anyone currently practicing “social distancing,” as it reminds us that using social media and messaging to stay in touch with those we are truly socially connected to could play a role in combating the uncertainty and anxiety many people are currently grappling with. However, it’s important to note that this research was conducted before the covid-19 pandemic and the researchers thus do not know what the impact of the lockdown may be on the relationship between social media and wellbeing. A new study will be launched in the coming weeks to address this question directly.

 

Professor Andrew Stephen, L’Oréal Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Research at Saïd Business School said: “We found that a truly social use of social media has a detectable, albeit small, positive effect on a person’s psychological wellbeing, whereas merely following influencers, brands or other non-social entities had no effect.”


Related news

  • Research

We found that a truly social use of social media has a detectable, albeit small, positive effect on a person’s psychological wellbeing, whereas merely following influencers, brands or other non-social entities had no effect.

Andrew Stephen

L’Oréal Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of Research

“Think Facebook and instant messaging, which tend to facilitate meaningful social interactions versus Instagram and Twitter, which are more about following interesting things and people.”

 

The authors said there was no need to discontinue using social media apps that were not “truly social”, but recommended limiting engagement with people such as celebrities on social media, with whom users do not have real relationships.

 

Dr Cammy Crolic, Associate Professor of Marketing at Saïd Business School said: “Social media platforms should consider putting more weight on meaningful social interactions. Facebook did this some time ago by engineering their news feed algorithm to make sure that users see more posts from friends and family. We think this is helpful at present during the covid-19 crisis.”

 

Professor Stephen, Dr Crolic and two other Oxford Saïd academics, Dr Jan-Emmanuel de Neve and Dr Michael Gill, will take part in a virtual panel event offering practical advice based on their research into what makes us happier, how to protect mental health at work and how social media can help our psychological wellbeing.

 

Wellbeing and mental health during Covid-19

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