Category: Social Media

A new 8-year long longitudinal study on time spent on social media shows a non-impact on mental health

I’m sure this still will come as a big surprise to many, but it’s pretty difficult for results to be as clear:   Time spent using social media was not related to individual changes in depression or anxiety over 8 years. This lack of a relationship was found even in the transition between adolescence and… Read More A new 8-year long longitudinal study on time spent on social media shows a non-impact on mental health

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Maybe it’s not the smartphone: study of 400 teens finds little evidence linking excessive smartphone use and mental health outcomes

It’s an often repeated claim, but it seems hard to proof: our smartphones seem not to be the reason some of our children feel worse. From the press release: A new study, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, suggests that the time adolescents are spending on their phones and online is not that bad.… Read More Maybe it’s not the smartphone: study of 400 teens finds little evidence linking excessive smartphone use and mental health outcomes

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A different kind of result: Facebook can help college students with lower confidence build relationships

The past few years we saw many negative effects of Facebook, but not all is negative. In short: Type of friends affects building social capital via Facebook and traditional media. Facebook compensates for traditional media with friends from high school. With college friends, those with lower self-efficacy gain more from Facebook. With college friends, those… Read More A different kind of result: Facebook can help college students with lower confidence build relationships

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A study prone to be misunderstood: a possible link between social media groups and academic performance

Show me which groups you take part in on social media or which pages you like, and I’ll tell you how good you’ll do in school. Well, that could well be the interpretation of this study, but a couple of things: correlation doesn’t mean causal relation (!) being part of some social media groups means… Read More A study prone to be misunderstood: a possible link between social media groups and academic performance

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This study made me wonder if I’m preaching to the choir or singing from the rooftops?

Sometimes a study makes you think. Not because it’s complex or because it’s wrong, but because… well it hits close to home. Isabelle Côté is an SFU professor of marine ecology and conservation and an active science communicator whose prime social media platform is Twitter just like me. Ok, I have a bit more followers… Read More This study made me wonder if I’m preaching to the choir or singing from the rooftops?

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