Browsing social media was followed by slightly more negative emotion
In 154 adolescents followed for two weeks, the prompt after browsing showed slightly higher negative emotion. Posting did not.
The key idea
Browsing was followed by a small increase in negative emotion in this diary study. Posting did not show that pattern.
The study, in plain language
Social-media use and mood shift from one moment to the next. To follow these fluctuations closely, adolescents received prompts throughout the day and reported whether they had browsed or posted, as well as how they felt.
When someone reported browsing, their negative emotion tended to be slightly higher at the next prompt, even after accounting for how they felt beforehand. Posting did not show this pattern, and negative emotion did not predict whether they would browse or post later. The association was small and disappeared when looking at what happened within the same prompt.
What they found
- After browsing, negative emotion was slightly higher than usual at the next prompt.
- The association was small and did not appear when browsing and emotion were measured in the same prompt.
- Posting did not predict later emotional changes.
Something to think about
If you are an adolescent, notice whether browsing and posting feel different to you, without assuming that one activity caused a mood change.
How they studied it
For 14 days, 154 adolescents in Canada answered four daily prompts about social-media use and emotions. The team compared each person’s successive responses without intervening.
What the study cannot show
- The sample was regional, and responses came from the adolescents themselves.
- Browsing and posting could overlap and did not describe each platform.
- The study does not rule out other factors that could explain the association.
The original study
Bidirectional Associations of Adolescents’ Momentary Social Media Use and Negative Emotions
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
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