I was shocked to see that the social media study linked image-based social media to higher levels of happiness and lower levels of loneliness. A quick google search links social media to depression, anxiety, and other illnesses, with far more studies showing negative correlation between social media and mental well being. The study we read equates seeing a picture of a friend smiling to thinking that they are actually there, but in reality most of the images we see on social media are not our closest friends, but an accumulation of high school and college peers, friend of a friend, etc.
One Reply to “Blog Post 10/19/2020”
Comments are closed.
Yes, I agree that the findings of this study are shocking. Yet, I wouldn’t necessarily rely on a “quick Google search” either as evidence to the contrary.
The question of images that you raise is central. Do images have psychological effects on our bodies that we aren’t even aware of necessarily? Even if we don’t want to accept Pittman and Reich’s findings (and I have my doubts myself), I think it’s worth asking this question.
I’d appreciate if you raised your doubts about the article in class!