‘Everything in moderation’ is often preached as the key to a healthy life.
But when it comes to social media, we spend an average of 143 minutes per day consuming content, according to a GWI 2024 report. That’s more than two hours every day scrolling, messaging and posting to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.
This figure is separate from the total time spent on our phones each day, which, according to Statistica, is around 4 hours 39 minutes each day for the average person.
With so much time spent online, perhaps we should consider the health implications. And, according to new research from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore, excessive social media usage can have a detrimental impact on mental health, particularly for people over 50.
Can high social media use increase your risk of depression?
IIM Indore’s research revealed that people over the age of 50 are more likely to be depressed when passively using social media. This positive link between passive social media use and depression in people over the age of 50 was found to be amplified during times of isolation and crisis – such as the global pandemic.
This passive social media use is generally characterised by scrolling, or consuming content without participation. Substituting real-world interaction for this shallower social media connection was revealed to lead to severe mental health issues such as increased depression and anxiety.
Run by Professor Himanshu Rai, the Director at IIM Indore, and his colleagues, the research used nationally representative data taken in the US. The study highlights the importance for over 50s to use social media in a way that doesn’t lead to worsening mental health. This could mean using the platforms more actively: posting instead of scrolling, messaging instead of ghosting, and interacting instead of airing.
Can using social media ever be a good thing?
The research on social media usage is varied and, at times, contradictory. Sometimes you have to dig a little deeper than the headlines to understand the truth behind what research – and media – is telling you.
That is to say, while IIM Indore’s research finds increased social media use can increase chances of depression, the researchers also remark that active social media use – participation, posting content, and talking to friends and family – generally enhances feelings of connectedness, and reduces feelings of loneliness.
And this connection has been proved by researchers at Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. A six-month study of 1,029 adults found a small, positive effect of time spent using social platforms on both subjective well-being and psychological well-being.
They revealed that time spent using social platforms for interactions with friends and family had a positive influence on the individual’s subjective and psychological well-being.
“Time spent on social media apps can potentially have positive psychological well-being consequences when social media is used as a means of communication and engagement with people close to them such as friends and family, which we term ‘meaningful connections’,” said Andrew Stephen, Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research at Oxford Saïd.
“This does not mean that all kinds of social media use is good for us but rather shows that how people use these powerful and ubiquitous communication platforms matters,” he adds.
Mixed messages
Data from the app Moment, which tracks the amount of time users spend on social media platforms on their smartphones did a survey on users, asking them a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question: “Are you happy with your time spent?”.
They found that the people who say they are happy with how much time they spend on social media generally spend less time on these platforms. In other words, using social media more heavily is correlated with less satisfaction.
Despite the findings from these studies, a new paper published by the American Psychological Association states that there is currently not enough reliable evidence to link social media use to mental health problems, and argues that we should therefore not link social media usage to mental health disorders. Clearly, this is a divisive issue in academia.
Ultimately, the decision to use social media – or not- should be a personal one, guided by your own individual needs and preferences.
By, Chloë Lane
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