Social media is uniquely complex. It can create loneliness or ease it, promote anxiety or lessen it, cause FOMO or relieve it. Four researchers in Japan dove into the study of different age demographics and their social media use, separating each platform into its own area of study. The more we know, the better equipped we are.

Ah social media—our best friend and worst enemy. Despite its faults, we can’t write it off completely because it connects us to our people, and, well… it can be fun! But we can’t ignore the fact it can be hard on our mental health.

Social anxiety is something we discuss in tandem with social media quite often these days. And how could we not? Social media, at its best, is a place to share and bond and keep in touch; at its worst, it’s home to comparison, intimidating interactions, and judgement.

It’s human nature to compare yourself to others. Sometimes, comparison can be a powerful tool, encouraging us to strive to be more like those we look up to. But on the flip side, it can also make us feel poorly about the state of our own lives. Social comparison often goes hand-in-hand with lower self-esteem, and social media has opened people up to more comparison than ever.

When you think of social capital, what do you think of? Does your mind wander to the popularity politics of high school, or a businessman climbing through the ranks due to his likeability? In reality, it tends to be a lot more simple than that… you’ll see!

Generation Y—aka millennials—use social media differently from all other generations. They were the first generation to grow up with computers and social media, making them the first group of digital natives. They were the first group to actively contribute, share, search for, and consume content. What do we know—and not know—about Gen Y’s social media use?

Sleep is a vital part of everyday life, especially for young people. Teens are going through tons of growth, changes, and lifecycle transitions, which means rest is essential. Unfortunately, young people, more than others, fall into the trap of excessive social media use and insufficient amounts of sleep. Why is that?

How many people have helped their grandparents through the process of creating an Instagram account or found a friend request from them waiting for you on Facebook? As it turns out, most senior citizens are better with technology than we give them credit for, and we’re seeing a huge increase in their participation on social media.

TikTok is the app of the moment. Most of us have seen content from TikTok or have at least heard of it. Its slogan, “Make every second count,” nods to the rising popularity of the short video industry. Curious about TikTok’s smashing success, researchers Li Xu, Xiaohui Yan, and Zhengwu Zhang looked into the platform from all angles.

Who finds themselves interrupted by notifications from social media while they’re meant to be working? With social media infiltrating all areas of our lives, it makes sense that it would be affecting our work

We’re learning more and more that social media use in adolescents (ages 10-19) is related to mental health concerns. Knowing this connection, who’s ready to dive into the specifics? It turns out that gender makes a big difference in how social media impacts our young people.

Could the amount of social media platforms teens are on be affecting how they adjust to their daily environments? Is parental monitoring helpful or harmful to teens' relationships with social media?

Dr. Sarah Coyne and her team of researchers spent eight years surveying 500 adolescents on their screen time and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Here's what they found.

While we’ve been plagued by wave after wave of the pandemic, social media has spread a different kind of virus: the infodemic. Catch up on how social media algorithms may have played a role and what you can do about it.

A model that predicts depression through Twitter? How is that possible? This De Choudhury study answers this and other questions like: As we work to improve social media platforms, why not put their reach to good use?

While Zoom fatigue has been weighing us down at work, its lesser known cousin, social media fatigue, has been wearing us down after we clock out. Social media addiction, envy, and anxiety are all significant predictors of social media fatigue.

Humans have a natural fear of the unknown. In most cases, this emotion serves as a strong defense mechanism. But in the workplace, fear and ambiguity can negatively impact employee performance and well-being.

We all know the tight chest, pit in your stomach feeling that is anxiety. If you don’t, then you likely know someone who does. (Also, tell us your secret!) Is social media to blame for anxiety symptoms emerging in young adults?

In our increasingly digital world, social media and smartphone addiction is on the rise. A 2021 study shines a light on why we develop these addictions and what you can do about it.