ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORKS
People who use social media every day are more likely to feel lonely than those who don’t
MORE than a third of daily social media users are lonely.
New figures from YouGov show that 36 per cent of people who go on social media every day admitted to being lonely either very often or quite often.
In fact, 10 per cent said that they feel lonely very often.
The figures show that daily social media users are more likely to feel lonely than those who don’t use these sites at all. Some 26 per cent of people who people who are not members of any social media sites said they feel lonely either very or quite often. While that figure is still fairly high, it is 10 percentage points lower than daily social media users’ loneliness levels. These people make up a small minority, however. There are 40.7 million adult social media users in the UK, around 80 per cent of the total population. The YouGov report said that those using social media will see their friends enjoying what are portrayed as fun, picturesque and perfect lives, and that this can have a knock-on effect provoking feelings of loneliness.
Laura Alcock-Ferguson, executive director of the Campaign to End Loneliness, said: “Social media can be part of the solution to loneliness because it can help people make connections.
“For some people, social media is a lifeline; for example, if you are disabled and it’s difficult to leave the house, social media can provide a community that reduces isolation.
“However, social media connections are not the same as making connections offline and it can make you question the quality of your relationships and connections.
“It can fuel the damaging idea that if we are not constantly having the “best” or most glamourous time with our friends, our relationships are less valuable and meaningful.
“This means we become are dissatisfied with normal, healthy relationships and connections, which can increase feelings of isolation and loneliness.”
The report also looked at which social media users are the loneliest across eight different platforms.
Perhaps surprisingly, Facebook did not top the list. The data showed that more than half of all Tumblr users (56 per cent) say they feel lonely. The platform was followed by Snapchat (48 per cent), Google Plus (42 per cent), and Instagram (45 per cent). Facebook remains the most popular platform in the UK accounting for 85 per cent of all social media users but it actually has the second-lowest level of self-reported loneliness. Some 37 per cent of Facebook’s users say they feel lonely. Only LinkedIn has a lower rate, of 36 per cent.