According to a new study funded by charity Anxiety UK and conducted by researchers at University of Salford, over half of participants reported that using social media sites including Facebook and Twitter increased anxiety levels and lead to feelings of inadequacy when comparing their achievements to those of their friends and social media acquaintances.
298 people were surveyed for the research, over half of the individuals reported that social networking sites had a negative impact on their behaviour. It was reported that the majority of this was the result of comparing workplace and social successes with their peers. Two thirds of the individuals questioned reported insomnia after using social media websites. Additionally, 25 percent of the individuals had reported stressful repercussions of aggressive or confrontational social media behaviour in their workplace and relationships.
Previously it has been reported that people experience withdrawal symptoms if their access to social media sites are restricted. Different research reported that stress levels have been positively impacted by an email holiday. Additionally, social media and technology gadgets have been found to produce addictive symptoms similar to those seen in people with alcohol or smoking addictions.
Mindfulness has been shown to decrease anxiety, improve quality of life while also reducing characteristics such as aggression, anger and resentment. To date there is no research that has examined the exact influence mindfulness has on social media anxieties, however, there is vast amounts of evidence suggesting that Mindfulness can directly impact the negative influence of the social media driven electrical age we have now all become accustomed to.
