Social Media Use and Empathy: A Mini Meta-Analysis

Guan, Shu-Sha Angie; Hain, Sophia; Cabrera, Jennifer; Rodarte, Andrea L.

doi:10.4236/sn.2019.84010

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…These findings suggest that concerns about children's digital or screen media use are perhaps overblown in terms of impeding emotional skill development. In contrast to some previous findings that EI associated with some problematic media usage (Parker et al, 2008) and empathy associated with social media use (e.g., Guan et al, 2019), no screen or digital media use variable in this study related to child EI, empathy, or emotional regulation, though reading did associate with higher EI. Given the correlational nature of the data, we cannot know whether reading promotes EI or whether those high in EI enjoy reading.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Further, in light of dropping empathy rates among US college students over a 30-year period (1979Konrath et al, 2011), some have argued that the concomitant rise in social media use is to blame, distracting from and displacing the more human connection derived from face-to-face interaction (Turkle, 2011; see also Chopik et al, 2017). However, casting doubt on this assertion, recent longitudinal evidence among 10-14-year-olds and 17-19-year-olds has revealed that time spent on social media positively predicted self-reported empathy over a one year (Vossen & Valkenburg, 2016) and three-year period (Stockdale & Coyne, 2020; see also Guan et al, 2019). Such findings likely stem from the affordances of media platforms that allow for reflection on both the content consumed and one's reaction to it.…”

Section: Media Use and Emotional Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Digital Media Use Harm Children’s Emotional Intelligence? A Parental Perspective

Nabi

Wolfers

2022

MaC

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Emotional intelligence (EI) is comprised of a set of critical life skills that develop, in part, through practice in social interaction. As such, some have expressed concern that the heavy screen media diet of today’s youth threatens the development of those crucial abilities. This research assesses how the media diet of children and the media use of their parents relates to child EI levels to assess what, if any, specific patterns exist. Four hundred parents of children aged 5–12 reported on, among other variables, their child’s EI, empathy, and emotional regulation skills along with their child’s various digital and non-digital media use, and non-media activities. Parental EI, screen use, media emotional mediation, and media co-use with their children were also assessed. Analyses revealed no significant relationships between child EI and screen use of any kind, though reading positively associated with child EI. Especially interesting, children whose parents used their mobile device more frequently in the presence of their child had lower EI, and parents who engaged in emotional mediation around their child’s media use reported higher EI levels in their children. These findings suggest that concerns about children’s digital media usage are perhaps overblown in terms of impeding emotional skill development. Further, and especially critical, parents’ own media-related behaviors around their children could have significant impact on child EI development.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Media Use and Emotional Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Digital Media Use Harm Children’s Emotional Intelligence? A Parental Perspective

Nabi

Wolfers

2022

MaC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Our sample size of 1,253 was sensitive to effects of r = ±.06 with 80% power (α = .05, two-tailed). This means our study should be able to detect correlations higher than r = .06 or lower than −.06, a size comparable to previously reported average effect sizes ( r = .05–.07; Guan et al, 2019).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…We next conducted a mixed effects meta-analysis using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis V3 software to combine the empathy results from our current study with those included in Guan et al,’s (2019) meta-analysis of five studies. This analysis calculated the weighted mean correlation between emotional empathy and social media use and also the weighted mean correlation between cognitive empathy and social media use.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cognitive empathy is considered a deliberate skill that develops with practice, whereas emotional empathy may occur more automatically in response to evocative stimuli (Martingano, 2020). In an attempt to determine whether the relationship between social media and empathy is different for cognitive and emotional empathy, Guan et al (2019) conducted a mini meta-analysis of five previously published studies on this topic. They found that, overall, individuals’ social media use was associated with higher self-reported emotional empathy and cognitive empathy.…”

Section: Empathy and Social Media Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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Empathy, narcissism, alexithymia, and social media use.

Martingano¹,

Konrath²,

Zarins³

et al. 2022

Psychology of Popular Media

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As social media becomes more popular, so do debates about its socio-emotional implications. The current study examined the relationship between social media use and narcissism, alexithymia, and empathy among 1253 American adults. We find that, within this sample, social media use is negatively correlated with self-report and performance measures of empathy, particularly cognitive empathy, and positively correlated with narcissism and alexithymia. However, this result appears constrained to the demographics of this sample. We also report a mini meta-analysis on the relationship between empathy and social media use including our results alongside those of previous research. We find that this strength and direction of this relationship may depend upon nationality, age, and data collection date. In contrast to our result, studies conducted in Europe or with a sample under 18 years of age find a positive relationship between social media use and empathy. In addition, data collected in more recent years tends to report a more positive association between social media and empathy. This paper helps to clarify the relationship between social media use and socioemotional traits and contributes to public debates about social media. Public Policy Relevance StatementIn a large correlational study, social media use was found to be negatively associated with empathy and positively associated with narcissism and alexithymia (traits typified by a lack of empathy). When included in a mini-meta-analysis of related literature, these results help clarify a conflicted literature and point to potential explanations for why the relationship between social media and empathy appears inconsistent.

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From “online brains” to “online lives”: understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions

Firth,

Torous,

López‐Gil

et al. 2024

World Psychiatry

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In response to the mass adoption and extensive usage of Internet‐enabled devices across the world, a major review published in this journal in 2019 examined the impact of Internet on human cognition, discussing the concepts and ideas behind the “online brain”. Since then, the online world has become further entwined with the fabric of society, and the extent to which we use such technologies has continued to grow. Furthermore, the research evidence on the ways in which Internet usage affects the human mind has advanced considerably. In this paper, we sought to draw upon the latest data from large‐scale epidemiological studies and systematic reviews, along with randomized controlled trials and qualitative research recently emerging on this topic, in order to now provide a multi‐dimensional overview of the impacts of Internet usage across psychological, cognitive and societal outcomes. Within this, we detail the empirical evidence on how effects differ according to various factors such as age, gender, and usage types. We also draw from new research examining more experiential aspects of individuals’ online lives, to understand how the specifics of their interactions with the Internet, and the impact on their lifestyle, determine the benefits or drawbacks of online time. Additionally, we explore how the nascent but intriguing areas of culturomics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality are changing our understanding of how the Internet can interact with brain and behavior. Overall, the importance of taking an individualized and multi‐dimensional approach to how the Internet affects mental health, cognition and social functioning is clear. Furthermore, we emphasize the need for guidelines, policies and initiatives around Internet usage to make full use of the evidence available from neuroscientific, behavioral and societal levels of research presented herein.

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Social Media Use and Empathy: A Mini Meta-Analysis

Cited by 11 publications

References 48 publications

Does Digital Media Use Harm Children’s Emotional Intelligence? A Parental Perspective

Does Digital Media Use Harm Children’s Emotional Intelligence? A Parental Perspective

Empathy, narcissism, alexithymia, and social media use.

From “online brains” to “online lives”: understanding the individualized impacts of Internet use across psychological, cognitive and social dimensions

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