Yahoo Lifestyle Social Media Lowers Stress Levels
Despite contrary reports of late, a new study says consuming social media can be beneficial to high stress levels - if you're a woman, that is.
The Pew Research Center in the US found that stress levels were dependent on how social media was consumed by users, rather than the fact that they actually used it.
Bloggers reveal: 'My instagram shots are staged'
For most women, scrolling through their Instagram feed and responding to Facebook events actually helps lessen stress levels because it "allows them to reorganise activities that would otherwise be more stressful," the study's authors say.
On the flipside, men's stress levels seem to remain the same, regardless of how much social media they consume or how they use it.
But before you reach for the phone, consider this: women appear to be more prone to empathising with other people's stress - which means that certain social media use can actually increase stress.
"Especially for women, this greater awareness is tied to higher levels of stress and it has been called 'the cost of caring," say researchers. "Stress is not associated with the frequency of people's technology use, or even how many friends users have on social media platforms. But those users who feel more stress are those whose use of digital tech is tied to higher levels of awareness of stressful events in others' lives. This finding about "the cost of caring" adds to the evidence that stress is contagious."
The conclusion? If you're a female and prone to stress, Instagram gets the thumbs up (who doesn't love pretty pictures?) but stay away from intense Twitter debate.
RELATED:
Golden Instagram moments from the 2015 Golden Globes
Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry now on social media
