Why Social Media Makes People Unhappy—And Simple Ways To Fix It

There are a number of negative mental health consequences associated with social media. The same platforms that can help people feel more connected also contribute to loneliness. Computer scientists say that how these platforms are designed is what determines their success or failure. A graduate student in human- computer interaction at the University of Washington believes that interdisciplinary research can inform better social platforms and apps. At theCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in May, she presented findings from a recent project that explored how social media can cause dissociation. Baughan spoke with Daisy Yuhas, editor of Mind Matters, about how and why apps need to be changed to give people more power.

The transcript of the interview has been changed.

Changing social media cues and presentations can improve well-being even when people disagree. Do you have an example?

The design of social media can give people a lot of power in how they interact with each other. It has been found that social media design can help people feel more supportive and kind in moments of online conflict if there is a little nudging. We designed an intervention that encouraged people to switch to direct messaging if they started talking about something that wasn't nice. The people liked it. They were able to resolve their conflict by moving to a private space to work things out.

The "30-Minute Ick Factor" is a term used by your graduate adviser and a computer scientist at the University of Washington. Is that?

We are lost on social media. When people encounter a platform where they can infinitely scroll for more information, it can lead to a similar reward system as anticipating a win in a lottery. These apps are designed to keep us busy.

The 30-Minute Ick Factor is when people don't realize how long they've been online until they realize how long they've been there. People are dissatisfied with the amount of time they spend on social media. A lot of people think it's meaningless.

You argue that the experience is more about dissociation than it is about addiction. What is that thing?

Many forms of dissociation can be found. You are disconnected from your actions when you are dissociation. If you start daydreaming and don't pay attention to how you are doing the dishes you could be doing the dishes wrong. You might want to play a game, watch a movie, or read a book that will distract you and make you forget where you are.

The passage of time is reduced as a result of these activities. People only realize that they made a mistake in the past. The sense of "What just happened?" or "My leg fell asleep while we were watching that movie" restores attention.

If it is an absorbing experience, meaningful activity or a needed break, dissociation can be a good thing. It can be harmful if it comes in conflict with people's time management goals as with social media scrolling.

Is it possible to measure people's dissociation on social media.

We worked with 43 people who used a custom mobile app to access their social media accounts. We can ask people questions and test interventions with the app. After a given number of minutes, we would send a questionnaire to people to measure their dissociation. On a scale of 1 to 5, how much they agreed with the statement "I am currently using Chirp without paying attention to what I'm doing" Interviews with 11 other people were done as well. The results show that 42 percent of our participants experienced dissociation, and that they lost track of time or felt all-consumed.

Four interventions were designed to modify people's experience on the social networking site. What did it accomplish?

Reading history labels were the most successful. Users were forced to categorize their content in custom lists. They only interacted with the content on the lists. This approach combined with a reading history intervention in which people received a message when they were caught up on the newest social media activity. They focused on the newest content instead of scrolling because they were aware of what they had already seen. People said they felt safer checking their social media accounts when those interventions were present.

People received timed messages telling them how long they had been on Chip and suggesting they leave. They were able to see how much time they spent on the site in the past seven days. If people used them, they were effective. Many people didn't pay much attention to them. People didn't like the timed messages. A lot of the popular time management tools look like these notifications.

Social media companies could be doing things differently. There is no incentive for them to change.

People who use social media are being worked against. It is not possible to fully catch up on a social media feed when you consider the content that is put in it. There is hope that simple changes to social media design can make a difference.

The custom lists did not affect time spent using the app. Reducing people's dissociation may not be antithetical to social media companies' revenue goals.

People value being able to log in to a platform, connect with who they want to connect with, consume the media they enjoy, find the information that's relevant and then be gently pushed off the platform in a way that fits their time management goals. People could use social media in a positive way. Right now, that is not the way it is being designed.

What is the most important thing people use social media for?

Don't put a lot of shame on your social media habits. Thousands of people are employed to keep you doing what you are doing. The responsibility of designing safe and satisfying experiences should be shifted to the companies.

Understand the well-being tools that are already available. Every hour, TikTok will tell you that you have been scrolling for a long time and that you should take a break. The default option is not the only one that has a custom list. These companies could be persuaded to refine them if more people use these tools.

If you want to see the biggest changes, vote for people who want to regulate technology.

Do you work in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? Have you read the paper that you want to write about? Suggestions can be sent to Daisy Yuhas at pitch mindmatters@aol.com.