Social media use tied to poor physical health

Date:
January 24, 2022
Source:
University at Buffalo
Summary:
Social media use has been linked to biological and psychological
indicators associated with poor physical health among college
students, according to new results. Research participants who
used social media excessively were found to have higher levels
of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biological marker of chronic
inflammation that predicts serious illnesses, such as diabetes,
certain cancers and cardiovascular disease.

In addition to elevated CRP levels, results suggest higher social
media use was also related to somatic symptoms, like headaches,
chest and back pains, and more frequent visits to doctors and
health centers for the treatment of illness.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Social media use has been linked to biological and psychological
indicators associated with poor physical health among college students, according to the results of a new study by a University at Buffalo
researcher.


========================================================================== Research participants who used social media excessively were found to
have higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biological marker of
chronic inflammation that predicts serious illnesses, such as diabetes,
certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. In addition to elevated
CRP levels, results suggest higher social media use was also related to
somatic symptoms, like headaches, chest and back pains, and more frequent visits to doctors and health centers for the treatment of illness.

"Social media use has become an integral part of many young adults'
daily lives," said David Lee, PhD, the paper's first author and assistant professor of communication in the UB College of Arts and Sciences. "It's critical that we understand how engagement across these platforms
contributes to physical health." The findings appear in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

For decades, researchers have devoted attention to how social media
engagement relates to users' mental health, but its effects on physical
health have not been thoroughly investigated. Recent surveys indicate
social media usage is particularly high for people in their late teens and early 20s, a population that spends about six hours a day texting, online
or using social media. And though a few studies have found links between
social media usage and physical health, that research relied largely on self-reporting or the effects of usage with exclusively one platform.

"Our goal was to extend prior work by examining how social media use
across several platforms is associated with physical health outcomes
measured with biological, behavioral and self-report measures," said Lee,
an expert on health outcomes related to social interactions.



========================================================================== Researchers recruited a diverse sample of 251 undergraduate students
between the ages of 18 and 24 for the study. Blood samples were collected through finger sticks, and participants also completed questionnaires on physical health and social media usage on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat,
and Instagram, the most popular platforms at the time the data were
collected in 2017. Those responses were crosschecked with another survey
that measured validity by determining the degree to which participants
took their role in the study seriously.

"We were able to establish a correlation between the amount of social
media use and these physical health indicators," said Lee. "The more participants used social media, the more somatic symptoms they experienced
and visits to the doctor they reported. They also showed higher levels
of chronic inflammation." Lee says this study is just the beginning of understanding the relationship between social media and physical health.

"By looking at a biological marker in the blood, we were able to find a relatively more objective association between social media usage and
physical health, but this correlational finding can't rule out the
possibility that poor health impacts social media usage," said Lee.

Lee says the aphorism could hold true with social media use and physical health: The rich get richer while the poor get poorer. "In our previous research, we found those high in self-esteem benefited from using social
media, but people low in self-esteem did not. So, the effect may be
more nuanced." "There's still work to be done," said Lee. "But right
now, I wanted to get the word out there that social media use may have
a link to important physical health outcomes." Lee's research team for
the current study included colleagues from The Ohio State University:
Tao Jiang, a graduate student; Jennifer Crocker, PhD, professor of social psychology; and Baldwin Way, PhD, associate professor of psychology.

special promotion Get a free digital "Metabolism Myths"
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always get wrong about diet and exercise. Claim_yours_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_at_Buffalo. Original
written by Bert Gambini.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. David S. Lee, Tao Jiang, Jennifer Crocker, Baldwin M. Way. Social
Media
Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators. Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking, 2022; DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0188 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220124103917.htm

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