Social media relieves stress in women—except when it causes it
Does social media stress you out? The answer is more than likely “not really,” but a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project shows that social media can have a big impact on stress levels in women, both positive and negative.
The researchers found that frequent use of social media did not necessarily increase stress, and in fact, it can help lower stress for some people. According to the study, women who frequently use social technologies such as Twitter, email and cellphone picture sharing report lower levels of stress than those who do not.
Another study published by the Pew Research Center showed that people who actively use social networking tools like Facebook tend to have more close friends, are more trusting, feel better supported and are more politically active. These factors all contribute to lower than average stress.
Gender also plays a major role in stress levels affected by social media. While women who frequently used social media reported lower levels of stress than those who did not, there was no significant difference between men who did and did not use social media.
“The cost of caring”
While social media may lower stress most of the time, the researchers found that it can sometimes increase stress due to what they call “the cost of caring.”
The study by the Washington D.C. think-tank says that social media is not stressful by itself, but it can act as a “reminding machine,” increasing stress levels by making users more aware of events in their friends’ lives.
“It’s a well-known social phenomenon,” said Keith Hampton, a Rutgers professor and one of the lead researchers on the study. “When you’re aware of bad things happening in other people’s lives, particularly friends and family, that’s a stressor for you, too.”
Hearing about a new engagement or a promotion can improve a user’s mood, but hearing about a friend who had a death in the family can have the opposite effect.
“Some argue that these little sips of connection don’t add up to anything,” Hampton said. “But we’re finding it does, it’s a big gulp of awareness.”
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