Teens’ trust in the news they read on social media or the lack of it may be critical in determining whether it adds to or detracts from their well-being, according to a Cornell psychology study. The researchers found that those who trusted the information about COVID-19 they saw on Facebook, Twitter more likely to feel empowered, while those who were less trusting were more likely to find it stressful.
The findings highlight the need for news literacy programs to help young people discern credible, fact-based sources from misinformation and conspiracy theories, and foster a more nuanced understanding of how social media use affects well-being and mental health.
Adam Hoffman, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and College of Human Ecology says “It’s not just the amount of social media use that will have this positive or negative effect It’s how you engage with social media news media that will have more of an effect on how it affects you.”
Impact of social media on well-being and mental health
Previous research into the impact of social media on well-being and mental health is somewhat mixed, the scholars said, finding both good and bad effects. For example, some studies have shown that it can promote social connection and self-expression, others that it facilitates bullying and feelings of inferiority.
As the pandemic took hold in early 2020, daily exposure to negative headlines on social media helped popularize the terms “doomscrolling” and “news avoidance” among those trying to escape stressful media. The virus that causes COVID-19 has also become the subject of rampant misinformation, which the World Health Organization has labeled an “infodemic.”
In this setting, the research team asked 168 students enrolled in an after-school science, technology, engineering, and math program about their engagement with news about COVID-19 on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok the most popular news-sharing platforms, each of which has also been criticized for spreading misinformation.
The ethnically and racially diverse participants, who ranged in age from 14 to 23 and averaged 17, were asked how often they had been exposed to information about COVID-19, how much they trusted it, and how they were coping, measured in three ways: emotional, psychological and social.
Unexpectedly, encountering news about Covid-19 an average of several times a week either had no effect on well-being or was perceived as slightly positive. The researchers speculated that exposure to pandemic news may have made teens feel more informed about the virus and world events, even when it was difficult or depressing.
While trust can be good for well-being, there is also a potential downside to ‘blind’ trust in social media reports, with one study finding that it increased the acceptance of myths and conspiracies about Covid-19.
“It’s not just that we have to believe, but that we have to believe credible news sources that are factually based and have been vetted,” Hoffman said. “So youth can be informed and have a positive sense of well-being and self, and that’s the best of both worlds.”
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