Despite the assumption that using multiple social media platforms negatively affects users’ well-being, a study by researchers Sophie Lohmann and Emilio Zagheni from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Germany finds no significant risk.
The study, adjusting for inherent differences between people who use multiple platforms, is published in the journal PLOS Digital Health.
Addressing Data Bias
Previous studies focusing on single variables like depression or general health lacked clarity in defining social media use.
Lohmann and Zagheni’s study, however, looks at the effects of using various social media channels on users’ well-being while taking self-selection bias into account.
The researchers used a sample of adults from the 2016 General Social Survey (U.S.), with self-selection referring to bias introduced when those who choose to participate in a study are systematically different from non-participants.
In social media studies, users voluntarily signing up to the platform represents self-selection.
Adjusting for Self-selection
To offset the skew introduced by self-selection, Lohmann and Zagheni reweighted the sample to simulate equal probabilities of belonging to groups such as ‘no social media use,’ ‘one social media channel,’ ‘two social media channels,’ etc.
The study found no significant difference in happiness levels among people using multiple social media channels compared to others.
“Even without applying our method, there’s a very minor correlation between using multiple social media platforms and outcome variables like relationship satisfaction, financial satisfaction, general satisfaction, trust in the state, etc.
Once we apply our method, all negative effects vanish,” says Lohmann, debunking the belief that using multiple channels leads to user overload.
Future Research Needs
Lohmann stresses the need for future research to focus more on identifying the causal effects of social media use on well-being, along with incorporating high-quality longitudinal studies and experiments.
Also, she emphasizes the importance of correctly defining ‘social media use’ to take into account the varying characteristics and usage patterns across platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.
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The study was published in PLOS Digital Health.
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