Former President Trump’s Fact Social will begin to give Us residents who pre-ordered the application from the Apple Retail outlet access to the platform starting at midnight, FOX Small business has figured out.
A supply acquainted with the rollout instructed FOX Business enterprise Sunday that the company is working less than a staged-strategy, and stated that Reality Social will populate with new buyers who pre-requested the app over the future 10 days.
TRUMP ‘TRUTH SOCIAL’ Start Anticipated BY Stop OF MARCH, Sources SAY
In the previous 7 days, Fact Social has welcomed a quantity of outstanding buyers, like influencers, politicians and celebrities—as perfectly as Us citizens who were to start with in line to pre-order the application via the Apple Application Retailer.
So much, the app’s prominent end users include things like Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Dan Bongino, Turning Stage Usa Founder Charlie Kirk, rapper Kodak Black, place songs singer Travis Tritt and more.
Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in Manhattan on May 18, 2021. (James Devaney/GC Photographs | App store)
FOX Small business initial described previously this thirty day period that the platform will be absolutely operational by the envisioned close-of-quarter launch day.
Sources instructed FOX Small business that TMTG is not relying on any regular significant tech providers for infrastructure wants, resources explained, but rather on its cloud products and services partnership with Rumble.
A source acquainted told FOX Small business that Rumble is positioning by itself as an option to each YouTube and Amazon Net Solutions (AWS).
TMTG CEO Devin Nunes was the very first elected official to use Rumble’s video clip system in 2020.
Nunes joined TMTG as CEO in December, immediately after retiring from Congress right after almost two decades.
Nunes, on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” stated “each working day we deliver on a lot more and a lot more Us residents and we are receiving to you as immediately as achievable.”
“We are performing a thing that is really…just these types of a great chance for President Trump, for me, for our complete workforce which is doing the job at TMTG all around the clock, specifically as you see the pleasure of individuals who have been booted from social media for the very last two or three many years,” Nunes said. “I signify, there is certainly exhilaration on our system suitable now and persons, it is really inspirational.”
He additional: “Actually, it really is just it can be basically really going for me to see people today that are on the system that have had their voice canceled—And which is our major goal listed here is to give men and women their voice again.”
Nunes explained the firm is “concentrated on client knowledge,” and that they “benefit our prospects and we want them to explain to us what they would like to have on the platform.”
TRUMP ‘TRUTH SOCIAL’ Establishing Articles MODERATION Techniques TO Assure ‘FAMILY-FRIENDLY’ Community
“Which is the reverse of some Silicon Valley tech oligarch freak telling people today what they want to think and determining who can or are not able to be on the system,” Nunes explained. “We are definitely taking just the opposite strategy, which is valuing our clients.”
The timeline for a entirely operational launch is in line with what previous President Trump explained to Fox News in an special interview in December, when he teased the social media platform would be “in good shape” by the close of the first quarter, in March 2022.
Those people associated in the closing stages of growth instructed FOX Enterprise very last month that TMTG partnered with Hive – a San Francisco-primarily based Collection D start out-up that provides automated alternatives by cloud-dependent synthetic intelligence for comprehension visuals, video clips and text articles. Hive’s engineering supplies automatic content moderation throughout video, impression, textual content and audio.
“We want to be extremely loved ones-welcoming, we want this to be a extremely harmless put, and we are targeted on building certain any illegal content material is not on the web page,” Nunes reported in an exceptional job interview with FOX Organization previous thirty day period.
Trump Media & Technologies Team to start with released in Oct. The enterprise claimed previous thirty day period that the spouse has agreements for $1 billion in capital from institutional traders
TMTG’s plan is to develop into a publicly listed company as a result of a merger with the publicly traded Digital Entire world Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition firm whose sole objective is to purchase a private enterprise and get it community.
Over the last 20 years, social media has risen from relative obscurity to become a fully accepted and integrated part of everyday life. However, despite social media’s ubiquity, the research on how it affects mental health remains inconclusive.
Share on PinterestWhat do we really know about social media and mental health? Image credit: Colin Anderson/Stocksy.
So far, most research investigating the effects of social media on mental health has focused on the potential negative aspects.
For instance, a 2019 study involving 6,595 teenagers from the United States concludes that those who spend more than 3 hours per day on social media may have a higher risk of mental health problems than those who do not.
But the degree to which social media actually harms mental health is debatable. A recent review, available as a preprint, found that most studies investigating the link between social media and mental health demonstrate “weak” or “inconsistent” associations.
Another review found that while there may be a small negative association between social media use and mental health, the link is complex and depends on exactly how researchers define mental health and social media use.
Meanwhile, other research suggests that social media may even benefit mental health, especially for people belonging to LGBTQIA+ communities and those living with mental health conditions.
These conflicting findings make it challenging to navigate the research investigating the effects of social media on mental health and how best to use social media. With this in mind, Medical News Today sought the input of seven psychology experts at the intersection of social media and mental health.
“One promising area of research is the role of online peer networks, where it appears that connecting online with others who share similar mental health challenges can offer important benefits for feeling less alone, learning coping skills, and being able to offer/receive emotional or informational support from others,” Dr. John Naslund, Ph.D., an instructor in global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, told MNT.
Dr. Niklas Johannes, a postdoctoral researcher in the Adolescent Well-Being in the Digital Age program at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, agreed that social media might be linked to some mental health benefits. However, he added that more research is necessary to confirm the direction in which this connection lies.
“There’s a lot of research out there that suggests social media are a useful tool to stay connected to others. In fact, those who use social media more also report feeling more social support. However, all of this comes with a huge caveat: We simply don’t know about cause and effect. It’s just as plausible that heavy social media users make more friends or that those with a lot of friends use more social media. It’s also plausible that both are true,” he explained.
Other research suggests that “how” a person uses social media rather than “how much” may have a stronger association with mental health outcomes.
“There is evidence that routine social media use in the general population is positively associated with mental health and social well-being, as long as one is not ’emotionally invested’ in the media, in which case the outcomes are negative,” Dan-Mircea Mirea, a Ph.D. student in psychology and project coordinator at Mental Health for Romania, told MNT.
Dr. Gonneke Stevens, associate professor of social and behavioral sciences at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, agreed that “emotional investment” in social media use may be more indicative of mental health outcomes than how much a person uses it.
“[O]ur research suggests that not so much the intense use of social media, but social media use problems — that is, addiction-like symptoms such as feeling bad when social media use is restricted, loss of control over and preoccupation with social media, and conflicts with others because of the social media use — are associated with mental health problems.”
– Dr. Gonneke Stevens
“Indeed, we found that social media use problems predicted increases in mental health problems 1 year later — this was true for both depressive symptoms and ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] symptoms,” she added.
“For children and teens, I think the most compelling evidence is the research regarding cyberbullying on social media,” said Dr. Kya Barounis, a senior mental health researcher at the University of California, San Diego. “Cyberbullying is associated with symptoms of depression and suicidality. It may be a particular problem for youth who identify as sexual or gender minorities.”
Dr. Barounis also noted that social media use could displace other behaviors, such as sleep and exercise, which are “important for maintaining good mental health.” Researchers study this process through what is known as “displacement theory.”
To give an example, she said:“If a youth is staying up late each night on social media and not getting enough sleep, the lack of sleep can lead to feelings of irritability or depressed mood the next day.”
She cautioned, however, that this does not mean that social media use causes mental health conditions, noting that the relationship between chronic sleep problems and clinical depression in youth is complicated.
Dr. Naslund agreed that social media can perpetuate “targeted hate from others” or cyberbullying, which can have a negative effect.
He added that although research related to social media and mental health is generally mixed, “exposure to hateful content online — such as viewing or being targeted by derogatory content targeting race, ethnicity, or gender — is associated with poorer mental health and feelings of distress.”
Beyond the risk of cyberbullying and exposure to hate content, others say that it is important to interpret with caution any studies related to more generalized social media use because they are often based on unreliable data.
“There are multiple observational studies that find that social media use is negatively associated with mental health,” said Mirea.
“However,” he added, “there are also studies looking at similar datasets, or sometimes the same dataset with different methods, that find no effect. One study found only small negative associations between mental health and using digital/electronic technologies, including social media — about as large as regularly eating potatoes!”
“It seems that the conclusions are very much affected by how researchers analyze their data, which makes it hard to draw a concrete conclusion about to what extent social media has negative effects on mental health. A plausible explanation for these unclear findings is that social media use affects some people more and others less.”
– Dan-Mircea Mirea
To give an example of how difficult it can be to interpret studies on the mental health effects of social media, Dr. Craig Sewall, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, told MNT:
“The strongest evidence indicating that social media can have negative effects on mental health — that I am aware of — comes from a randomized experiment that examined the impact of Facebook deactivation on well-being among a large sample of U.S. adults. This study found that, overall, the group that deactivated their Facebook account experienced increased levels of subjective well-being compared with the group that did not.”
“However, there are a couple of important limitations to this study. First, the ‘treatment effect’ — that is, the effect of deactivating Facebook — was very small. Second, the sample of participants was older, so it’s not clear how these results would apply to younger people,” Dr. Sewall noted.
“And, finally, it’s unclear whether the effects observed for deactivating Facebook would be consistent across other social media platforms, as there are many differences between Facebook and TikTok, for example.”
Best to look at the different aspects of social media separately
For some people, it is also difficult to establish whether social media has positive or negative effects on mental health because it is unclear to which platform or platforms the terms “social media” refer.
Dr. Jacob T. Fisher, assistant professor at the Institute of Communications Research and the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told MNT:
“I just don’t really know that we have compelling evidence for ‘social media,’ in a general sense, having adverse effects on mental health. ‘Social media,’ as a descriptor, covers a vast range of platforms and services, each of which is very different from one another, enabling and incentivizing very different sorts of behaviors. To add to this, both social media platforms and how people use social media have changed drastically over the years.”
“In this sense,” he said, “trying to define the ‘effect [of] social media on well-being’ is a lot like trying to determine the ‘effect of food on health’ — the question is so broad so as to be essentially unanswerable.”
“In my opinion,” Dr. Fisher added, “a better approach would be to break apart the different features and design decisions that comprise social media platforms — how information is presented, how the algorithm amplifies or suppresses content, the behavioral engineering involved in how a platform solicits (or even demands) our attention — and start to investigate the influence of those things on well-being.”
“A central issue here is that social media platforms refuse to share data that can begin to answer these questions with researchers like my colleagues and me,” he explained.
“There are two completely different stories being told about the effects of social media on well-being,” said Dr. Sewall. “In the popular media — where the vast majority of people get their information on this subject — the story is often some version of ‘social media is bad, especially for younger people.’”
Yet, he cautioned, “[t]he evidence cited in these popular media pieces is often cherry-picked, oversimplified, and overinterpreted — giving the impression to readers that social media causes harm to well-being.”
“On the other hand, in the scientific literature — which has a much smaller, niche readership — the story is much more complicated. The fundamental complexity of the issue combined with a litany of methodological issues and contradictory findings make it difficult, if not impossible, to conclude anything with confidence,” Dr. Sewall added.
“If anything, our best evidence to date suggests that social media does not have a meaningful impact on well-being. However, this story — that it’s very complicated, and there’s a lot we don’t know — does not generate many clicks,” he explained.
Dr. Barounis added that much research on the topic is based on people having symptoms of mental health issues, as opposed to receiving a formal diagnosis. “It’s really important to distinguish between symptoms of mental health problems versus a diagnosis of a mental health problem,” he explained. “One can have a few symptoms without having a full diagnosis. So far, a lot of researchers have examined the relationship between social media use and symptoms of depression or anxiety (as measured on a survey) in typically developing youth.”
“It is a mistake to interpret a positive relationship in these studies’ results as evidence that social media use causes youth to meet all of the criteria for a diagnosis of clinical anxiety or depression. Also, there is a measurement issue. Self-reports of time spent on social media may not be very accurate,” she explained.
To help navigate through exaggerated claims and confusing literature, Mirea recommended four points to bear in mind when looking into the link between social media and mental health:
Follow trustworthy sources(academic journals or trusted outlets): You shouldn’t have to play the detective every time you see a scientific claim. Fortunately, if your sources are reputable, most of the work is being done for you.
Avoid clickbait-sounding headlines: Good reporting would never trade accuracy for the prospect of attracting your attention. Also, be cautious if an article uses words that a scientist (especially one in the social or clinical sciences) would never use — such as that something is “a fact” or that they “proved” something.
Be wary of ideological content [and] your own biases: Ask yourself: “Do I want this to be true, or the opposite?” If so, then be extra careful when assessing the information.
Ask an expert friend, if you have one: If you’re in doubt about the scientific aspects of a claim and you’re not sure how to assess it, think of someone you know that might be able to help (such as someone that majored in that field in college — e.g., biosciences for COVID-19 studies or psychology for mental health studies).
Dr. Barounis recommended that parents or caregivers of children and adolescents “talk with their children about cyberbullying and take steps to address it if it is occurring.”
She further explained: “Parents can also monitor their child’s use to see if it is displacing healthier behaviors, like sleep and exercise. Simple steps, like limiting use before bedtime and charging mobile devices outside the bedroom, can help prevent social media use from disrupting sleep.”
“In terms of the pandemic, parents should remind youth that a lot of their friends and followers on social media may be feeling slightly anxious or depressed during these uncertain times. Youth can support these friends and followers by refraining from posting content that could be misinterpreted in a negative way (i.e., a joking comment in reaction to someone’s post that might come across as mean-spirited) or content that could increase anxiety.”
– Dr. Kya Barounis
Due to a lack of consensus on whether and how social media relates to mental health, some experts say that it is difficult to make specific recommendations.
“Unfortunately, the scientific evidence isn’t strong enough to make specific recommendations,” said Dr. Johannes. “I’d advise, just like with any other activity, to observe what’s good for the user. If I feel like I’m comparing myself with others and it isn’t good for me, then take more breaks and maybe focus on different functions of social media. If I feel lonely and know that going on social media makes me feel connected, go for it. It’s rather obvious advice, I’m afraid.”
For others, using social media with an intention clearly in mind is key to avoiding getting swept up in any of its potentially harmful effects — from wasting time to damaging mental well-being.
“I’d suggest that the best way for people to use social media is to use it intentionally,” said Dr. Fisher. “Like lots of big businesses, social media platforms frequently incentivize mindlessness on the part of their users because it makes it easier for them to make money (both from showing you advertisements and collecting more data about you).”
“Curate who you follow, how much time you spend on the platform(s), etc., and do your best to cultivate a healthy relationship with the platforms you use,” he added.
“Something that is becoming clear from recent studies is that the effects of social media, or certain aspects of social media use, can differ significantly from person to person,” said Dr. Sewall. “So, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.”
“However, in general, I’d say the best way to use social media is to make sure you are getting out of it what you are intending. That is, if you are intending to use social media as a way to stay connected with others, or as a form of entertainment, or whatever, try to be mindful about whether the way you are using social media in that instance is helping you meet that intention,” he concluded.
Arkansas Republican discusses Democrats shelling out agenda on ‘FOX Business Tonight’
Democratic leaders are on track to convey both equally President Biden’s social paying invoice and the bipartisan infrastructure monthly bill up for votes on Friday subsequent months of extreme negotiations with progressive and average holdouts.
The House Policies Committee is slated to meet up with throughout the night time to finalize the textual content of Biden’s expending monthly bill, dubbed the “Make Back Far better Act.” The laws is envisioned to outline about $1.75 trillion in investing above a 10-yr interval.
When the invoice is finalized, the Household will debate and vote on the “rule” for the investing bill and then vote on regardless of whether to go the bill by itself. Household lawmakers will also vote on the bipartisan infrastructure monthly bill, which is centered on bodily tasks. The Property already debated the infrastructure monthly bill, most likely fast-monitoring a closing vote.
PELOSI: Paid out Depart Additional Back INTO BIDEN Expending Monthly bill
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., walks with reporters searching for updates about a vote on President Joe Biden’s now-$1.85 trillion domestic coverage offer as nicely as a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill, at the Capitol in Washington, T (AP Newsroom)
House The greater part Chief Steny Hoyer, D-Md., informed lawmakers of the expected timeline on Thursday night time.
“The House will convene at 8:00 a.m. for legislative business enterprise tomorrow and will take votes on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3684 – Infrastructure Expenditure and Work Act and the Construct Back Improved Act,” Hoyer claimed.
The votes will get spot after tense infighting among the Democratic lawmakers in the Household and Senate.
FILE Photo: U.S. Dwelling The greater part Chief Steny Hoyer (D-MD) leaves the Residence ground at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., October 12, 2021. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan/File Photo (Reuters Photographs)
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., pressured important cuts to the scope of Biden’s expending invoice, which initially called for $3.5 trillion in paying on social and climate-related applications. But earlier this 7 days, Dwelling Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a provision for 4 months of compensated leave, which Manchin opposed, would be included again into the monthly bill.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) walks by way of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., Oct 21, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz (Reuters Pictures)
Democratic leaders say “fork out-fors” provided in the bill, these types of as tax hikes for the wealthiest People in america and enhanced IRS tax enforcement, will include the bill’s costs. Republicans have universally opposed the expenditures, arguing that they are fiscally irresponsible and could guide to financial destroy amid rising inflation.
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If the Property votes go, the “Develop Back Much better Act” will proceed for a Senate vote. It is nonetheless not crystal clear if Manchin and fellow moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., the two important holdouts, will help the remaining variation of the spending invoice.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., claims Biden’s Develop Back again Superior system will gain 4 million American people and build a great deal of positions.
Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi educated Democratic lawmakers Wednesday that a paid out go away provision will be added back again into President Biden’s social paying out invoice, a choice that could draw the ire of moderate holdouts, like Sen. Joe Manchin, W-Va.
The proposal set to be involved in the legislation outlines 4 weeks of paid leave. Paid out depart was scrapped from former versions of the monthly bill amid opposition from Manchin and others who elevated problems about the price of expanded social packages.
“As we are examining priorities and at the urging of a lot of Associates of the Caucus, I have asked the Methods and Implies Committee for its legislation for Paid Spouse and children and Health-related Leave to be incorporated in this morning’s listening to,” Pelosi reported in a letter. “Chairman Richie Neal and the Committee employees have worked on this priority for a lengthy time and we’re ready.”
US Financial state Adds 194K Jobs IN SEPTEMBER, Missing ESTIMATES
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., fulfills with reporters to examine President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (AP Photograph/J. Scott Applewhite / AP Newsroom)
Manchin was significant of the paid out go away proposal in new months, arguing the reconciliation course of action that will let Democrats to go the spending bill by a simple bulk vote should really not be utilized to employ that program. Other Democrats, which include Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, pushed Manchin to reconsider his opposition to the proposal.
The West Virginia Democrat has also asserted that a important growth of social programs would be fiscally irresponsible thanks to expected shortages in funding for Social Protection and Medicare in the coming yrs. He has referred to as for any compensated go away plan to contain a function necessity.
Pelosi alluded to opposition from an unnamed senator in her letter.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. | Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. | President Biden (AP Image/J. Scott Applewhite | AP Newsroom | Photo by Al Drago/Getty Visuals)
“Simply because I have been knowledgeable by a Senator of opposition to a number of of the priorities contained in our monthly bill and due to the fact we must have laws agreed to by the Property and the Senate in the remaining version of the Make Again Improved Act that we will send out to the President’s desk, we must strive to discover prevalent ground in the legislation,” she wrote.
Manchin indicated to reporters Wednesday that he was unaware Democratic leaders intended to insert the compensated depart system back again into the investing invoice.
“Which is a challenge, quite significantly of a challenge, and they know how I feel about that,” Manchin said.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a vital holdout vote on President Biden’s domestic agenda, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (AP Photograph/Andrew Harnik / AP Newsroom)
The Household Rules Committee is expected to meet later Wednesday to mark up the amended edition of the social paying out invoice, dubbed the “Construct Back Greater Act.” Lawmakers are predicted to vote on both equally the expending invoice and the individual bipartisan infrastructure deal as before long as Thursday.
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It’s unclear how the inclusion of paid leave will effects the final selling price tag of the investing bill. A framework agreement last 7 days outlined about $1.75 trillion in expending more than a 10-calendar year time period.
Worldwide, statistics suggest mental health has declined since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Is social media partly to blame?
Share on PinterestWhat are the links between mental health status and social media use during the pandemic? We investigate. Image credit: Koukichi Takahashi/EyeEm/Getty Images
On a global scale, social media can be a way for people to gather information, share ideas, and reach out to others facing similar challenges. It can also be an effective platform to relay information quickly during a national or worldwide crisis, new technology.
This global reach is what has made social media a critical communication platform during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As government health organizations used it to relay recent findings on prevention and treatment, social media became more than a place to post the latest vacation photos — it became a hub of pandemic-related information.
Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.
But has the use of social media during the pandemic negatively impacted mental health and well-being? Or has it had the opposite effect?
In this Special Feature, Medical News Today looks at what research says about social media use and the COVID-19 pandemic to reveal how it has affected mental health. We also spoke with two experts about this complex topic.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health conditions are on the rise. Data show that around 20{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of children and adolescents worldwide live with a mental health condition.
Moreover, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15–29-year-olds.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that of the adults surveyed in the United States:
Further research suggests that pandemic-related mental health challenges have impacted people differently, with some racial and ethnic groups disproportionately affected by pandemic stress.
In particular, Hispanic adults reported experiencing the highest level of psychosocial stress in relation to food shortages and insecure housing at the start of the pandemic.
A research report published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that there is an association between pandemic threats and extensive anxiety and concern among the public.
Scientists explain that some anxiety about personal safety and health during a widespread disease outbreak can help promote healthy behavior, including hand-washing and social distancing.
However, in some people, anxiety can become overwhelming and cause harm.
Social media use has been on the rise since its debut in 1995. As it has grown, more people have started using it as a news source. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between August 31 and September 7, 2020, about 53{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of adults in the U.S. get their news from social media.
Research indicates that social media can help effectively communicate health information to a global audience during a public health crisis. However, the information shared on these platforms can sometimes be inaccurate or misleading.
For example, one research review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research looked at social media posts before March 2019 and found that Twitter contained the most health misinformation — mostly about smoking products and drugs.
This health misinformation may lead to an increase in fear, anxiety, and poor health choices.
According to one study, attempts to reduce the spread of misinformation by fact-checking and flagging posts with inaccuracies may help reduce the influence of false information for some people.
Still, there is ongoing debate on whether social media content regulation may increase mistrust and promote more social media posts reflecting inaccurate information.
Because the COVID-19 pandemic emerged recently, scientists are only beginning to understand the role of social media on users’ mental health.
For instance, using questionnaires, researchers in China interviewed 512 college students from March 24 to April 1, 2020, to determine whether social media harmed mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results indicate a link between higher use of social media and an increased risk of depression. Furthermore, the authors suggest that exposure to negative reports and posts may contribute to the risk of depression in some people.
Additionally, according to a study that appears in the journal Globalization and Health, there is increasing evidence that endless news feeds reporting SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and COVID-19 death rates could influence the mental health of some individuals.
MNT spoke with Lee Chambers, M.Sc., M.B.Ps.S., founder of Essentialise, about the impact of social media on mental health during the pandemic.
Chambers said:
“While we are all impacted in differing ways by social media consumption, the continual flow of negative and misinformation during the past 18 months have spread fear; the highlighting of social and political issues has reduced optimism; and edited photos and toxically positive content leave no space to feel secure or express negative emotions healthily. Alongside the increased desire for metrics such as likes and comments in these challenging times, it’s likely that social media has exacerbated mental health challenges.”
He also explained that social media keeps people connected to friends and family, especially during social distancing with limited physical interactions. Yet, this increased use may have amplified social anxiety and challenges with perfectionism and comparison for some people.
Prof. Steven C. Hayes, Foundation Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno, who developed the Relational Frame Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, told MNT: “We know that there are toxic processes that produce particular challenges for people: exposure to physical and psychological pain; a comparison with others and judgment; entanglement with self-judgment.”
He further explained that “[t]hose predict pathological outcomes if you’re not able to step back to notice the process of feeling and thinking, to orient to what’s present and what is really important to you and line up your behavior behind that.”
“And social media,” he added, “because of its exposure to pain comparison and judgment, enormously challenges us all in ways that are orders of magnitude more severe than ever in the history of humanity. Those processes have been toxic from the beginning, but exposure to those processes as a daily diet is new. [However], there are features inside social media that have expanded human consciousness. And it gives us great opportunities.”
As Prof. Hayes mentioned, these opportunities may include a heightened awareness of mental health and reduced stigma surrounding mental health conditions.
Research published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggests that psychosocial expressions have significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This means that more people are expressing their emotions, both positive and negative, and garnering support from others. As a result, the stigma surrounding mental health conditions may be decreasing.
Prof. Hayes noted that the COVID-19 pandemic exploded the idea that mental health conditions only affect certain individuals.
“Everybody realizes that mental strength and mental flexibility — that is, mental and behavioral health and social wellness — applies to all of us. It’s not a one-out-of-five issue; it’s a five-out-of-five issue, and that is the permanent result of this year and a half of [COVID-19].”
– Prof. Steven C. Hayes
With emerging research suggesting social media may impact the mental health of some users, some platforms have begun to initiate positive changes.
For example, on September 14, 2021, the social media platform TikTok announced new features for its users to help provide resources for suicide prevention.
But can they do more?
According to Chambers: “Social media platforms have a key role to play in how their products impact on the mental health and well-being of their users. There are many aspects where this can be achieved. However, the challenge is that [using] most of these will decrease addictiveness, engagement, and time spent. This often goes against the aims of the platform itself.”
He suggests that social media platforms could consider improvements to build in mental well-being protection, including:
limiting news feed length
changing the way notifications are triggered
labeling altered images
introducing stronger regulation and monitoring of content designed to harm
implementing suggestions that users take a break
signposting to evidence-based resources and support on posts that may be triggering
ensuring clearer guidelines and more ability for users to easily control sensitive content
According to Chambers, “when it comes to [using] social media, both moderation of time and content consumed and intentionality play a significant part in garnering the benefits and reducing the downsides.”
He suggests that having a “digital sunset” before retiring for the night can help ensure anxiety will not impact sleep. In addition, having a social media-free day can positively affect mental well-being.
“The ultimate intention is for us to become the masters of social media, rather than social media become the masters of us.”
– Lee Chambers
Prof. Hayes noted that although mental health impacts everyone to some degree, that does not mean all people should be in therapy.
Instead, he suggested that “[w]e all need to learn how to be responsible for our mental and behavioral strength and flexibility. And to seek out the resources, just as we do with strengthening our physical health and flexibility.”
“That will empower us to face a changing world that, yes, will include regular exposure to pain, comparison, and judgment,” he added.
He noted that this exposure will also include the overwhelming reality of worldwide events as they are happening.
“We need to step up to that. And I see very hopeful signs that by using social media and technology and accessing the best that behavioral mental science can bring to us, we can speed up the natural process that happens of acquiring wisdom. That will allow you to be more open to your thoughts and feelings, more centered consciously in the present moment and connected to others, and more focused on your deepest human values. [It will also allow you] to create habits around those instead of creating habits around fear and judgment and comparison.”
– Prof. Steven C. Hayes
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Share on PinterestA COVID-19 vaccination center sign stands at St Thomas’ Hospital opposite Westminster on September 13, 2021, in London, United Kingdom. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Lockdown measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have changed people’s lives.
Different social groups felt these changes disproportionately.
Future research is necessary to determine if, how, and why these social inequalities continue to persist.
The United Kingdom officially announced its first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 23, 2020. Two more national lockdowns occurred in the months that followed, Home Decoration.
The lockdowns resulted in unprecedented changes to people’s lives, but not all these changes ended when the lockdowns were over.
A recent study, which appears in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, explores the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on various dimensions of different social groups.
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Researchers at the University of Oxford, U.K., used data from the first eight waves of the U.K. Household Longitudinal Survey on COVID-19 — from March 2020 to March 2021. They also used data from the main survey of two waves before the pandemic — from 2017 to 2019.
The panel survey covers a representative sample of 51,000 adults from approximately 40,000 households. The researchers reached out to individuals aged 20–65 years who participated in the main study to ask them to join the COVID-19 supplementary study. This required monthly online reporting from April 2020. In May 2020, the researchers added the option to report by telephone.
In total, nearly 16,000 individuals responded, representing a 42{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} response rate.
The authors reviewed the impact of COVID-19 and COVID-19-induced measures as the surveyed population reported.
The researchers were especially interested in how income, their use of time, and their well-being changed throughout different stages of the pandemic. In addition, they wanted to determine if these factors varied based on the sex, ethnicity, and education level of those surveyed.
Many of the measures officials implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19 involved reducing physical contact between people. As a result, the first wave of lockdowns impacted global social behavior immediately.
For example, business closures and remote work altered working patterns. Countries that introduced lockdown measures, such as the U.K., Australia, and the United States, immediately recorded reductions in work earnings.
Studies conducted following the first U.K. lockdown indicated that women and parents experienced a more negative influence on their subjective well-being than that of other social groups. Black, Asian, and minority ethnic immigrants were also more likely to have experienced economic hardship.
“So often, we focus just on cases and hospitalization, ICU usage, and mortality numbers, but it’s important to also look at the social impacts,” said Richard M. Carpiano, Ph.D., in an interview with Medical News Today.
Carpiano is a public and population health scientist and a medical sociologist. “A pandemic is very much a sociological phenomenon as much as it is the spread of a virus.”
As more lockdowns occurred, people’s health and overall feeling of well-being changed, not only because of the possibility or actuality of contracting SARS-CoV-2 but also because of related worry and stress.
The study showed that at the start of the pandemic, individuals who worked experienced a reduction in average earnings and the hours they worked per week. In addition, there was an increase in distress levels.
Data indicates that the mental health of most U.K. adults returned to pre-pandemic levels after the first lockdown, but that was not true for everyone.
Another study that appears in The Lancet supports this observation. It showed that 1 in 9 people did not experience an improvement in their mental health once the first lockdown lifted.
These lingering lockdown effects differed across the sexes, ethnicities, and between degree and nondegree holders. For example, during the first lockdown, the decline in pay was smaller for female than for male workers, possibly because of a higher proportion of women working in key sectors. Later, however, paid work time for men recovered faster than that for women.
Initially, the subjective well-being experienced by women suffered more than that of men. Then, as women’s subjective well-being began to recover, men’s distress levels began to rise.
Regarding earnings, Black, Asian, and marginalized ethnic people were more negatively affected than white individuals. This earnings gap persisted after easing lockdown restrictions.
The researchers conclude that the long-lasting pandemic and related restrictions have produced persistent negative consequences for earnings, work patterns, and subjective well-being.
Author Muzhi Zhou spoke with MNT about the study:
“Some changes in social inequality seem to disappear once lockdown measures are lifted, while other changes remain persistent throughout the whole year. It is worrying to see that the deepened social inequality could be long term for certain social groups.”
The study concludes by noting, “The negative impacts of the spread of COVID-19 and its related measures vary not only in their extent but also in their speed among different social groups.”
The authors suggest further research to understand the factors that have driven and exacerbated these social inequalities. To stress their point, they quote poet Damian Barr: “We are in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat.”
Speaking about future research, Zhou told MNT: “I think that given the richness of this continuing dataset and the growing number of people contracting [SARS-CoV-2], it is time to examine whether positive and negative COVID-19 test results have different impacts on people of different social groups. Moreover, whether people respond and behave differently after they have taken the vaccine is another very interesting topic.”
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