Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be a useful way of maintaining connection during lockdowns and combatting the sense of isolation that they bring. Some evidence suggests social media use maybe a helpful strategy for handling some of the anxieties that COVID-19 related lockdowns have caused (Cauberghe et al. 2021), and that technologically mediated communications (like social media) are useful in fulfilling basic psychological needs of connection during the pandemic (Dimmock et al. 2021).  However, social media use can also have negative effects. Adolescents experiencing COVID related stressors who spent more time using social media to virtually connect with friends reported greater degrees of loneliness and depression (Ellis, Dumas, and Forbes 2020) and that excessive use of social media during lockdown may increase instances of anxiety amongst adolescents (Muzi, Sansò, and Pace 2021), might be generally linked to increased psychological stress (Lin et al. 2020).  Brief exposure to COVID related news (sometimes referred to as doom scrolling) has also been linked to a reduction in positive emotions while using social media (Buchanan et al. 2021).  This is in addition to existing research that social media is related to psychological distress (Keles, McCrae, and Grealish 2020), and negative patterns of social comparison and self-esteem (Vogel et al. 2014) in everyday life.  None of this research says social media use is inherently good or bad, but that it may relate to negative effects if overused.  We suggest being mindful of your use and keeping a close eye on the way social media makes you feel, and not overusing platforms that might otherwise be helpful.

Buchanan, Kathryn, Lara B. Aknin, Shaaba Lotun, and Gillian M. Sandstrom. 2021. “Brief Exposure to Social Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Doom-Scrolling Has Negative Emotional Consequences, but Kindness-Scrolling Does Not” edited by B. Guidi. PLOS ONE 16(10):e0257728. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257728.

Cauberghe, Verolien, Ini Van Wesenbeeck, Steffi De Jans, Liselot Hudders, and Koen Ponnet. 2021. “How Adolescents Use Social Media to Cope with Feelings of Loneliness and Anxiety during COVID-19 Lockdown.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 24(4):250–57.

Dimmock, James, Amanda E. Krause, Amanda Rebar, and Ben Jackson. 2021. “Relationships between Social Interactions, Basic Psychological Needs, and Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Psychology & Health 1–13. doi: 10.1080/08870446.2021.1921178.

Ellis, Wendy E., Tara M. Dumas, and Lindsey M. Forbes. 2020. “Physically Isolated but Socially Connected: Psychological Adjustment and Stress among Adolescents during the Initial COVID-19 Crisis.” Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue Canadienne Des Sciences Du Comportement 52(3):177–87. doi: 10.1037/cbs0000215.

Keles, Betul, Niall McCrae, and Annmarie Grealish. 2020. “A Systematic Review: The Influence of Social Media on Depression, Anxiety and Psychological Distress in Adolescents.” International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 25(1):79–93. doi: 10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851.

Lin, Chung-Ying, Anders Broström, Mark D. Griffiths, and Amir H. Pakpour. 2020. “Investigating Mediated Effects of Fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19 Misunderstanding in the Association between Problematic Social Media Use, Psychological Distress, and Insomnia.” Internet Interventions 21:100345. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100345.

Muzi, Stefania, Alessandra Sansò, and Cecilia Serena Pace. 2021. “What’s Happened to Italian Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Preliminary Study on Symptoms, Problematic Social Media Usage, and Attachment: Relationships and Differences With Pre-Pandemic Peers.” Frontiers in Psychiatry 12:590543. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.590543.

Vogel, Erin A., Jason P. Rose, Lindsay R. Roberts, and Katheryn Eckles. 2014. “Social Comparison, Social Media, and Self-Esteem.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 3(4):206.