- Algorithmic content platforms like X, Instagram, and TikTok harm mental health more than Facebook and WhatsApp
- Facebook and WhatsApp usage correlates with higher life satisfaction and lower negative mental health effects
- X, Instagram, and TikTok usage associates with lower happiness and increased mental health problems
Algorithmic content (AC) platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok are worse for mental health than platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, which prioritise social connection, a report led by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford has found. Published as part of the World Happiness Report, the researchers found that apps that were more passive and visual, generated 'significantly higher negative affect'.
"More frequent use of WhatsApp and Facebook is associated with higher life satisfaction, better life evaluation, and greater positive affect. WhatsApp use is further associated with lower negative affect and fewer mental health problems," the report stated.
"In contrast, use of X, Instagram, and TikTok is generally associated with lower happiness, and with significantly higher negative affect and mental health problems. Instagram use is also linked to lower life evaluations," it added.
Positive associations are strong for widely used platforms that facilitate social connection, while AC platforms show less favourable relationships.
"These findings suggest that social connection platforms may contribute significantly to happiness in societies where dense and deep social connections already exist," the researchers said.
'Limited Use Of Social Media'
Limited use of social media for an hour or less per day led to higher life satisfaction than no social media use at all (excluding people who did not have access to the internet).
“There's a bit of a Goldilocks proposition here – not too much, not too little. Positive moderate use seems to be optimal,” Prof Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director of the Wellbeing Research Centre and an editor of the report was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
The report also pointed out that the majority of people used social media because "other people use social media". If social media's use were somehow reduced or even stopped, many people would be better off, and they are aware of that fact.
