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CivicScience, Inc.

Why Do Social Networks Increase Stress?

Posted: 07/12/2013 8:04 am EDT

Updated: 09/11/2013 5:12 am EDT

203 (javscript:void(0))
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85

It'sShare
hard to remember life before social media. How did we ever know what our
distant, high school friends' kids looked like? Or what they cooked their family for
(https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fjohn171 Or the fabulous places they visited on their seemingly-bi-monthly tropical
dinner?
dick%2Fsocial-networks-and-stress_b_3534170.html)
vacations?
Tweet
(https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?

0
Although
Facebook and Twitter feel almost ubiquitous today, according to the Pew
lang=en&text=Why+Do+Social+Networks+Increase+Stress%3F+http%3A%2F%2Fhuff.to%2F1dqjmlV)
Foundation, only 60 percent of Americans belong to a social network (For the record,
our data says 61 percent but we'll defer to Pew). Shockingly, that means well over one(https://www.linkedin.com/cws/share?url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-dick/social-networks-and26of people in the U.S. may never see a picture of their niece's swimming trophy or
third
stress_b_3534170.html)
know
if that guy they met at the conference is nearing his two-year job anniversary.
Comment

ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENT

But, are the 40 percent of Americans who are un-networked really worse off? Are the
active tweeters and status updaters living a more enriched life or a more stressful one?
We dug into our piles of data (http://civicsciencecss.s3.amazonaws.com/public/cs_methodology_validity_062012.pdf) to shed some
light on these questions.

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We quickly found that social network users are, in fact, 14 percent more likely than
non-users to characterize their lives as at least "somewhat stressful." Non-users,
conversely, are 28 percent more likely than users to say their lives are "not at all"
stressful. Clearly, there is a strong association between social media and stress, but
why? I'm glad you asked.

5 days ago huffingtonpost.com The

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Here are a couple possibilities:

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
Like it or not, social media is one of the most prevalent ways people learn about new
movies, music, fashion, books, or other products. Twenty-eight percent of people say
their friends on social media influence the music they listen to, 36 percent the TV
shows and movies they watch, and 36% the brands and products they buy.
All of this influence appears to correlate closely with stress. People who say social
media influences the products they buy "a lot" are 45 percent more likely to say their
lives are "very stressful." Maybe we can't afford all the fancy new products our friends
are buying. Maybe we're too busy to follow the trends in music or fashion. Whatever
the reason, it's evident that the more we pay attention to our friends' activities, tastes,
and possessions, the more stress we report in our lives.
KEEPING UP WITH YOUR "SELF"

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There's a secondary, if unconscious, effect of all this social media influence: We feel
pressured to portray our ideal selves for everyone to see. When surveyed, 40 percent
of social media users admitted they often post/share things to improve their image.
Honestly, how often do you see someone check-in at Dollar General, boast about their
job demotion, or post pictures of the frozen chicken nuggets they microwaved for
their kids? Seldom, right? Instead, we tend to highlight the positive aspects of our
lives and personalities, if only to compete with everyone else who is doing the same
thing.
This need to measure and curate our social media persona has a strong association
with stress. People who say they post things on Facebook or Twitter to improve their
image are over 4.5 times more likely than other people to "always" feel stressed.
KEEPING UP WITH THE NSA

4. Keri Russell Shows Us That Less

Is More

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Maybe the lack of privacy and discretion in social media is driving up our stress levels.
When nearly every part of our lives is only a cell-phone-camera-click away from being
viral content, are we doomed to high anxiety? Our data suggests this is possible. For
example:
Social network users who are "very concerned" about consumer privacy are 20
percent more likely to characterize their lives as "very stressful."
83 percent of people believe Facebook does the worst job of protecting their
privacy, compared to 11 percent who say Google, and 6 percent who say Apple.
69 percent of Facebook users do not believe the social network does enough to
protect privacy.
77 percent of Americans do NOT believe employers should be able to review
Facebook profiles as part of the job application process (even though they do).

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Found Its 'Deflategate' Culprit

Obviously, most people with extreme privacy concerns never join social networks in
the first place. That might just be too much anxiety for them to handle.
KEEPING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY
Finally, simply being "plugged in" all the time is a major stress-driver. Consider that
51 percent of U.S. adults admit to being addicted to their digital devices, which they
use primarily to be connected to the rest of the world. These addicts are 32 percent
more likely than non-addicts to consider their lives at least somewhat stressful.
What's more, social network users who are addicted to their digital devices are 76
percent more likely than average to say their lives are at least somewhat stressful.

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7. Here's How Much You Have To
Earn To Be In The 1 Percent In Each
State

KEEPING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
Using free services like Twitter or Facebook is a trade-off. We get to keep in touch
with friends and read some great content; but we lose a lot of discretion and privacy
as a result. We just need to keep it in perspective. Remember the earlier stat that 40%
of people post things to improve their image? When asked the question differently,
77% of people (almost 2X more) believe that their friends DO post things to improve
their image. You know your friends' lives aren't any more perfect than yours, so don't
let it stress you out. Put down your device every once in a while and enjoy the life you
have.

17 hours ago huffingtonpost.com The

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(AOL) Emily Cohn Emily Cohn one
percent
8. Malcolm-Jamal Warner Comments
On Bill Cosby Allegations

Follow John Dick on Twitter: www.twitter.com/civicscience

(http://www.twitter.com/civicscience)
MORE: Stress, Social Networking, Civicscience, Social Media, Technology and Stress, Less Stress, More
Living, The Third Metric

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