A new survey by Pew Research Center claims that users of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, do not experience more stress than non-users, offsetting the thought that social media users experience more stress due to the ‘fear of missing out’.
However, people on social media platforms are more conscious of stressful events in the lives of people they know, which has been described as the ‘cost of caring’.
During the survey, women reported an average score of 10.5 out of 30 on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), with men reporting an average score of 9.8, signifying that women have a tendency to report more stress than men.
However, women using several digital technologies to communicate with others report less stress when compared to women using none of these digital platforms.
The survey noted: "Compared with a woman who does not use these technologies, a women who uses Twitter several times per day, sends or receives 25 emails per day, and shares two digital pictures through her mobile phone per day, scores 21% lower on our stress measure than a woman who does not use these technologies at all."
"Facebook was the one technology that for both men and women provides higher levels of awareness of stressful events taking place in the lives of both close and more distant acquaintances."
The study adds that women experienced increased stress when they came to know about the death of a friend’s child, partner or spouse, or their friend being hospitalised or hurt, while on the contrary, men experienced stress when they learned about their friends’ ‘getting demoted at work or getting arrested’.
"This study suggests that the information transferred through social media translates into awareness of all kinds of extra things, including an awareness of undesirable events in the lives of family, friends and acquaintances."
