Main social media channels are prone to increase loneliness, psychologists claim

According to new studies, if scrolling down on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat or Tumblr for more than 1 or 2 hours a day, users are twice as exposed to experience social isolation.

Moreover, due to the subjective and idealized projections of other people’s lives, social media enthusiasts may as well be overwhelmed by negative feelings, such as exclusion, resentment and envy.

“We do not yet know which came first – the social media use or the perceived social isolation. It’s possible that young adults who initially felt socially isolated turned to social media. Or it could be that their increased use of social media somehow led to feeling isolated from the real world,” explains Elizabeth Miller, from the University of Pittsburgh.

It is considered that the time a person spends on-line is directly proportional with the intensity of these feelings, as real interactions’ time is considerably limited and replaced by the virtual experiences.

According to Professor Brian Primack, from the same university, “this is an important issue to study because mental health problems and social isolation are at epidemic levels among young adults. We are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalize us instead of bringing us together. While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for.”

The survey was conducted on 2.000 respondents between 19 and 32 years of age.