Divergent effects of social media use on meaning in life via loneliness and existential isolation during the coronavirus pandemic

2022 ◽  
pp. 026540752110669
Author(s):  
Peter J. Helm ◽  
Tyler Jimenez ◽  
Madhwa S. Galgali ◽  
Megan E. Edwards ◽  
Kenneth E. Vail ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Media Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Emotional Loneliness

Stay-at-home orders issued to combat the growing number of infections during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 had many psychological consequences for people including elevated stress, anxiety, and difficulty maintaining meaning in their lives. The present studies utilized cross-sectional designs and were conducted to better understand how social media usage related to people’s subjective isolation (i.e., social loneliness, emotional loneliness, and existential isolation) and meaning in life (MIL) during the early months of the pandemic within the United States. Study 1 found that general social media use indirectly predicted higher MIL via lower existential isolation and social isolation. Study 2 replicated these patterns and found that social media use also predicted lower MIL via higher emotional loneliness, and that the aforementioned effects occurred with active, but not passive, social media use. Findings suggest social media use may be a viable means to validate one’s experiences (i.e., reduce existential isolation) during the pandemic but may also lead to intensified feelings concerning missing others (i.e., increased emotional loneliness). This research also helps to identify potential divergent effects of social media on MIL and helps to clarify the relationships among varying types of subjective isolation.

scholarly journals Loneliness and Its Association With Social Media Use During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512110338
Author(s):  
Tore Bonsaksen ◽  
Mary Ruffolo ◽  
Janni Leung ◽  
Daicia Price ◽  
Hilde Thygesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Emotional Loneliness ◽  
Social Loneliness

Social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic changed social interaction for many and increased the risk of loneliness in the general population. Social media use has been ambiguously related to loneliness, and associations may differ by age. The study aimed to examine loneliness and its association with social media use within different age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia during April/May 2020, and 3,810 participants aged 18 years or above were recruited. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between social media use and social and emotional loneliness within separate age groups. Emotional loneliness was higher among young adults and among those who used social media several times daily. Adjusting by sociodemographic variables, using more types of social media was associated with lower social loneliness among the oldest participants, and with higher emotional loneliness among the youngest participants. Among middle-aged participants, using social media more frequently was associated with lower social loneliness. We found that the associations between social media use and loneliness varied by age. Older people’s engagement on social media may be a resource to reduce loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic. We observed higher levels of loneliness among high-frequent social media users of younger age.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study on Social Media Use and Public Participation in Korea and the United States: Does Social Media Matter?

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-230
Author(s):  
Kim Eun Yi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Interaction Effect ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
The Impact

This study examines how the use of different types of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, affects public participation, drawing on the theory of motivation, which addresses the effect of internal and external political efficacy as well as the perceived political importance of social media. The study also investigates the interaction effect between social media use and perceived the political importance of social media on public participation. Employing a comparative perspective on an issue that has not been well studied, the study further seeks to discover potential variations in the impacts of different social media on public participation in the United States and Korea, both of which held presidential elections at the end of 2012. This study conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses using data collected from college students in the United States and Korea. It shows the positive impact of social media use and its interaction effect with the perceived political importance of social media on the offline and online public participation of youth. The political motivational factor is found to be critical to driving public participation. This study also shows that the impact of Facebook use is more influential than Twitter use on public participation in the United States, whereas the opposite pattern is observed in Korea.

scholarly journals Social Media Use among Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Programs in the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhishek Jain ◽  
Daniel Crane ◽  
Sami Tarabishy ◽  
Isis Scomacao ◽  
Fernando A. Herrera
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Reconstructive Surgery ◽  
Media Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Plastic And Reconstructive Surgery

scholarly journals Social Media Use, Addiction and Burnout Levels of Hospital Employees, Effective Factors: A Cross Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
Kübra Yildiz Aydin ◽  
Neriman Aydin ◽  
Birgül Özçirpici
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Never Married ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Social Media Addiction ◽  
Hospital Employees

Background: As years passes by, the usage of social media has become an important public health issue. It is known that problematic social media use is related with health problems. With this study, it is aimed to determine the social media use of hospital employees, the relation between social media addiction and burnout levels and to determine effective factors.                                                                                                                 Methods: Target population of the cross-sectional study consists of 2627 person between the ages of 18-60 who is working at a university hospital. Minimum sample size was calculated as 321 and reached up to 323 people. Question form, Burnout Scale and Social Media Addiction Adult Form were applied by interviewing the employees face-to-face between the months of March-April 2019. Results: 80.2% of the participants use social media every day, 63.1% of them use social media mostly at evenings. 94.8% of people mostly connect to social media with their phone. Average time spent daily on social media is 91, 33±87, 89 minutes. Daily social media use is significantly higher in women, university graduates, nurses. There is a significant difference between age groups and between married and never married in terms of average time spent daily on social media. Social media addiction scale score is significantly higher in women, never married persons and in the age group 20-29. Weak correlation was determined between scores of social media addiction scale and burnout levels, and age and time spent on social media.                                                                                                                                         Conclusions: It is determined that social media usage in hospital employees is higher than Turkey’s average and there is a positive relation between scores of social media addiction scale and burnout levels. Providing education to employees in order to reduce social media usage, hanging posters related with how over-usage of social media may lead to burnout.

Associations Between Social Media Use, Physical Activity, and Emotional Well-Being From the Midlife in the United States Refresher Daily Diary Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Xin Yao Lin ◽  
Margie E. Lachman
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Daily Diary ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diary Study ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Daily Diary Study

Only a small percentage of adults engage in regular physical activity, even though it is widely recommended as beneficial for well-being. Thus, it is essential to identify factors that can promote increased physical activity among adults of all ages. The current study examined the relationship of social media use to physical activity and emotional well-being. The sample is from the Midlife in the United States Refresher daily diary study, which includes 782 adults ages 25–75 years. Results showed that those who used social media less often engaged in more frequent physical activity, which, in turn, led to more positive affect. This relationship was found for midlife and older adults but not younger adults. The findings show the benefits of physical activity for well-being and suggest that social media use may dampen efforts to increase physical activity, especially among middle-aged and older adults.

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