Heavy social media use is unhealthy for Americans, according to a new report from Bloomberg, which indicates stress levels of those who use social networks are higher than those who don’t.
“Social media use has skyrocketed from 7 percent of American adults in 2005 to 65 percent in 2015. For those in the 18-29 age range, the increase is larger, from 12 percent to a remarkable 90 percent,” reported Bloomberg. “But while an increase in social media usage is hardly surprising, the number of people who just can’t tear themselves away is stark: Nowadays, 43 percent of Americans say they are checking their e-mails, texts, or social media accounts constantly.”
“And their stress levels are paying for it,” they continued. “On a 10-point scale, constant checkers reported an average stress level of 5.3. For the rest of Americans, the average level is a 4.4. The highest stress levels, it should be noted, are reserved for those who constantly check their work e-mail on days off. Their average stress level is 6.0.”
42% of those who frequently check social media also reportedly pointed to “political and cultural discussions” as the cause of stress, while 35% are “less likely to spend time with family and friends.”
In October, it was reported that social media users were more likely to feel stressed over the 2016 presidential election.
More than half of those surveyed claimed that the lead up to the election was “stressing them out,” with 38% of them linking the stress to political discussions on social media.
In November, a “stress expert” claimed that left-wing media was largely responsible for the public distress following President Trump’s win.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington or like his page at Facebook.
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