DUBAI: Is social media really as social as the name suggests? According to one new report, the answer is no.
A new study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine suggests that if you typically spend more than two hours on social media, your chances of feeling isolated are higher, The Independent reported Monday.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh questioned 1,787 adults in the US aged between 19 and 32 about their use of 11 social media sites, including Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat, Reddit and LinkedIn.
The research was conducted between October-November 2014 and found that individuals who visit social media networks more than 58 times a week are three times more likely to feel isolated and lonely than people who visit below nine times per week.
However, the newspaper notes that it is not clear whether social media use is a cause of loneliness or whether it is simply that people who already feel lonely tend to spend longer periods of time on the platforms.
“We do not yet know which came first — the social media use or the perceived social isolation,” co-author Elizabeth Miller, professor of paediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, said, according to The Independent.
Social media junkies feel more isolated, new study says
Social media junkies feel more isolated, new study says
