Mental health actually improves in seniors using social media

Last updated on August 3rd, 2019 at 06:32 pm

Attention senior citizens!! a recent study says using social media and the internet regularly could improve mental health among senior citizen and help fend off serious psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety.

A research carried out by new Michigan State University and published on 21 June 2019 on Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication proves a brighter side of social network and proves that regular use of social media and the internet can improve the mental health of adults and ward off depression and anxiety.

Seniors using social media has better mental health

Social media always had a bad reputation for its adverse effect especially on the younger generations, interestingly there is another research that proves the good side of social media. Researchers say that it’s possible to predict the medical conditions just by studying the Facebook profile of an individual.

Actually, communication technologies and social networks like twitter, snapchat, youtube platforms make it easier to maintain relationships. It also gives easy access to health information, which could explain it, says Keith Hampton, professor of media and information at Michigan State University.

Why bad reputation of facebook & other social platform?

Simply because until now, adults haven’t been the focus of much research on the subject, Hampton said.

Instead, almost all studies on social media have focus on youth and college students and the effects could be explained by life stages, rather than technology use.

“Taking a snapshot of the anxiety felt by young people today and concluding that a whole generation is at risk because of social media ignores more noteworthy social changes, such as the lingering effects of the Great Recession, the rise in single child families, older and more protective parents, more kids going to college and rising student debt,” he said.

Research methodology

Hampton began analyzing data from more than 13,000 relationships from adult participants in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics – the world’s longest-running household survey.

During the year 2016 and 2016, all participants were given a series of questions regarding the use of communication technologies and psychological distress.

He closely studied the data from questionnaires found social media users are 63 percent less likely to experience serious psychological distress from one year to the next, including major depression or serious anxiety.

Having extended family members on social media further reduced psychological distress, so long as their family member’s mental health was not in decline.

The study, published in the Journal of Computer Mediated-Communication, challenges the notion that social media, mobile technologies, and the internet contribute to a mental health crisis in the United States.

Other key findings on how it helps in depression, stress:

• Someone who uses a social networking site is 1.63 times more likely to avoid serious psychological distress.
• The extent to which communication technologies affect psychological distress varies according to the type and amount of technologies people and their extended family members use.
• Changes to the mental health of family members affect the psychological distress experienced by other family, but only if both family members are connected on a social networking site.

Conclusion

“Today, we have these ongoing, little bits of information popping up on our cell phones and Facebook feeds, and that ongoing contact might matter for things like mental health,” Hampton said.

Resource:

1. Social Media and Change in Psychological Distress Over Time: The Role of Social Causation (Research published on 21 june 2019): https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jcmc/zmz010/5521084