Does spending more time on social media correlate with a happier or less happy life a few months later?
This observation comes from a study of 1,966 adults in the United States. The same people responded five times, with three months between each questionnaire. The researchers asked how often they used ten technologies that enable communication or interaction, then assessed their general satisfaction with their own lives.
A smartphone displaying a folder containing several social media applications.
Photo: Julian / Unsplash.
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This method makes it possible to ask a different question from a simple comparison between users. When the same person uses a technology more than usual, does their satisfaction change afterward? The researchers therefore tracked individual changes over time, rather than merely comparing highly connected people with others.
The main result is fairly clear: at this measurement scale and over these three-month intervals, the team found very little credible evidence that more frequent use predicts a subsequent change in life satisfaction. This applies to all ten technologies studied.
The researchers also examined the relationship in the other direction. Could an increase in life satisfaction subsequently lead someone to use certain technologies more? Here again, the observed effects remained limited. A few demographic groups nevertheless showed a slight subsequent increase in voice or video calls.
Some associations appear when different people are compared. Participants who sent text messages more frequently reported higher satisfaction on average. Conversely, more frequent use of YouTube or TikTok was associated with lower satisfaction.
A person may use a platform for many reasons related to their age, habits, relationships, or circumstances. Repeated follow-up is specifically intended to better distinguish these lasting differences from changes experienced by the same person.
The research measures reported frequency, not every activity carried out on a screen. Watching a video, talking with someone close, or passively scrolling through a news feed can correspond to very different kinds of use.