Looking Back at Facebook Content and the Positive Impact Upon Wellbeing: Exploring Reminiscing as a Tool for Self Soothing

Abstract

The premise of this paper is to explore the potential of reminiscing in facilitating self soothing. The research presented looks at people"s activities on Facebook and whether these particular activities impact upon their perceived sense of wellbeing, furthermore, whether specific Facebook activities enable a self -soothing effect when feeling low in mood. A survey was distributed amongst Facebook users. The results from the study appear to indicate that in comparison to other Facebook activities, looking back upon photos and wall posts in particular, could have a positive impact upon wellbeing. Additionally, the results indicate that people who have mental health problems, experience a more positive impact upon their wellbeing when looking at photos and wall posts, than those who did not have a history of mental health issues. The results from the research presented here contribute towards the viability of developing a mobile application to facilitate positive reminiscing.

Browsing Different Instagram Profiles and Associations With Psychological Well-Being

“…Viewing one's SNS content may be beneficial for other reasons. For example, looking at old content depicting past positive events may promote adaptive effects from positive reminiscing (Good et al, 2013). Likewise, feedback on SNSs tends to be highly positive (Valkenburg et al, 2006;Rideout et al, 2018;Wenninger et al, 2019).…”

Passive and Active Facebook Use Measure (PAUM): Validation and relationship to the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

“…Another study found that passively using one's own Facebook profile page can have a positive impact on emotional well-being, as scrolling through old posts and pictures had a self-soothing effect on respondents (Good, Sambhantham, & Panjganj, 2013).…”

Accessing Web Based Health Care and Resources for Mental Health: Interface Design Considerations for People Experiencing Mental Illness

“…The Web is increasingly providing access to the provision of health care via the Web and plays a significant role in providing information on mental health. This includes a variety of resources that facilitate support and self-help, such as information sites; social networking sites; communities as well as others (Good et al, 2013; Van de belt et al, 2010). When we consider that in 2010, people in the USA spent 10 billion dollars on self-help materials (Harwood & L'Abate, 2010); it is hardly surprising that a significant number of people are increasingly also looking to the Web for self-help resources.…”