Social Media and Loneliness

Abstract

Particularly to the younger Millennials and Generation Z, it appears as if social networking sites (SNS) is coming to the point of replacing normal social interactions and removing much of the personal aspects out of socialization. With the Internet literally being able to move at the speed of light, face-to-face interactions appear to be slowly in decline. As a highly social species, humans require interaction to maintain a healthy psychological state. This research has been conducted to analyze the level of loneliness and the level of SNS use with the intent of reinvestigating previous research on the correlations of SNS and loneliness with a more diverse demographic sample. In addition, this study has been designed to see if high usage of specific platforms has an increased likelihood to be related with loneliness. This research has been conducted by means of an anonymous survey of college students at a university in the Pacific to determine the amount of time spent on SNS, activities conducted while utilizing SNS, the priorities placed, and other information in regards to SNS usage. Inquiry was also conducted in analyzing how interpersonal relationships are related to or affected by SNS. This has been combined with the revised UCLA loneliness scale to determine if there is a correlation between SNS use, specific platform use, and loneliness. While previous similar studies have been conducted, the two primary differences are the diversity in the demographics available to be surveyed and the attempt at identifying if a specific platform is more likely to be related with loneliness.

The Relationship of Online Social Networking and Various Psychological Behaviors

“…What the researchers found supported the findings of Halston, Iwamoto, Junker and Chun (2019), which found no correlation between social networking sites and loneliness. However, this study is significant because it suggests that social media communication is superficial to the extent that there is no deep connection to change a person's emotion.…”

“…However, this study is significant because it suggests that social media communication is superficial to the extent that there is no deep connection to change a person's emotion. Similar to Halston et al (2019) and Iwamoto and Chun (2019), the amount of people a person has on their social networking site creates an increase in anxiety and stress. If a person is using social networking sites as a support system, findings suggest that true social connectedness (i.e., face-to-face or telephone call) is needed for improved mental health and wellness.…”

The Emotional Impact of Social Media in Higher Education

“…Interestingly, the self-concept that they place on themselves by the feedback they receive may not even be by those that they would consider friends or acquaintances. When the findings from this study is also compared to that of the study titled Social Media and Loneliness (Halston, et al, 2019), we find that social media keeps people superficially connected, but their level of social connectedness is typically not deep and meaningful enough to make people feel emotionally connected to others. Instead, the findings from this study suggest that depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress are more likely to occur due to social comparison theory combined with the lack of deep and meaningful social connections using social media platforms.…”

“…Aalbers, McNally, Heeren, de Wit, and Fried (2018) found that those who spent more time passively using social media experienced higher levels of loneliness, depressed mood, hopelessness, and feeling inferior. Yet, Halston, Iwamoto, Junker, and Chun (2019) found that the level of social interaction when using social media platforms were too superficial to influence a person's mood positively. Subsequently, social media platforms were found to be to have no relationship with one's feeling of deep and meaningful social connectedness.…”

The Differential Effects of Social Media on Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation Among the Younger and Older Adult Population in Hong Kong During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Population-Based Cross-sectional Survey Study

“…Social loneliness refers to the situation where an individual has a smaller number of relationships, stemming from the absence of a broader group of contacts or an engaging social network, such as friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Meanwhile, social media has been demonstrated to play an important role in forming and maintaining social networks and social capital, which may counter social loneliness [10][11][12]. While isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic may have reduced physical interpersonal encounters and increased social loneliness, social media can maintain social connections (eg, Shah et al [13]).…”