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Social media friends don’t help overcome loneliness: study
- On Wednesday, Oregon State University researchers published a study in Public Health Reports finding that social media connections with strangers correlate with greater loneliness, while online ties to known contacts neither reduced nor increased isolation.
- A 2023 Surgeon General's report warned of a national loneliness epidemic, noting that social disconnection carries health risks comparable to heavy smoking and affects roughly half of American adults.
- Surveying over 1,500 adults aged 30 to 70, OSU researchers noted about 35% of participants' social media contacts were people they had never met in person. The study cannot determine whether loneliness precedes stranger-seeking or vice versa.
- Clinical psychologist Melissa Greenberg of the Princeton Psychotherapy Center advises prioritizing in-person connections by joining book clubs, fitness classes, or volunteer groups where shared interests foster friendship.
- Professor Brian Primack, the study's lead author, advises users to "reflect on that" regarding stranger interactions, emphasizing that midlife and older adults comprise 75% of the U.S. population heavily exposed to social media.
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24 Articles
24 Articles
Survey of more than 1,500 Americans indicated that those with more online contacts, but not in person, experience an increase in loneliness
ABC FOX Montana+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
Social media friends don’t help overcome loneliness: study
The new research is a step toward filling a knowledge "gap" regarding social media’s role in loneliness.
·Missoula, United States
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The connection through social networks with people who don't know each other in person is associated with greater loneliness, according to scientists at Oregon State University (United States).This is suggested by a pioneering study with American adults suggests that all those unknown people you're friends with on social networks don't help you feel less lonely.The research is published in Public Health Reports, the official journal of the U.S. …
Coverage Details
Total News Sources24
Leaning Left6Leaning Right5Center12Last UpdatedBias Distribution52% Center
Bias Distribution
- 52% of the sources are Center
52% Center
L 26%
C 52%
R 22%
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