Be Happy, Use Snapchat!
Different types of social media platforms are uniquely related to young adults’ feelings of loneliness and happiness, a study in Computers in Human Behavior shows. Specifically, image-based platforms (Instagram, Snapchat) seem to have the potential to decrease feelings of loneliness and increase feelings of happiness in young adults.
Take aways
- The more young adults use image-based social media platforms, such as Instagram, the happier and less lonely they are.
- The use of text-based social media platforms, such as Twitter, is not related to feelings of loneliness and happiness.
- Parents and friends of lonely and unhappy young adults should know that personal images sent through image-based social media platforms might cheer them up and help improve their situation.
Study information
The question?
What is the relation between the use of different types of social media platforms (image-based versus text-based) and young adults’ feelings of loneliness and happiness?
Who?
253 young adult undergraduate students (mean age: 22.55; 64% male).
Where?
A large university in the northwestern United States.
How?
All students filled out a computerized survey, answering questions about their feelings of loneliness and happiness. Moreover, students were asked whether they regularly used image-based social media platforms (Instagram and Snapchat) and text-based social media platforms (Twitter and Yik Yak).
Facts and findings
- Young adults’ loneliness was associated with the number of image-based social media platforms that they used (Figure 1):
- Loneliness was highest among those who did not use any image-based social media platforms.
- Loneliness was lowest among those who used two image-based social media platforms.
- Happiness was also related to the number of image-based social media platforms used (Figure 2):
- Happiness was lowest among those who did not use any image-based social media platforms.
- Happiness was highest among those who used two image-based social media platforms.
- Young adults’ feelings of loneliness and happiness did not relate to the number of text-based platforms they used.
- Remarkable fact: The relation between image-based social media platforms and feelings of loneliness and happiness was even stronger for young adults who did not use any text-based social media platforms at all.
- Fun fact: Of all social media, young adults used Instagram the most.
