Study: Women Who Tweet And Post Photos Are Less Stressed Than Those Who Don't
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There's been plenty written about the effects of technology on modern life, but a new study from the Pew Research Center shows that when it comes to social media, it's not all bad.
The research, which surveyed nearly 2,000 adults on stress in their daily life, found that frequent internet and social media use does not raise stress levels for either sex. What's more, women who use social media or email for picture sharing were actually less stressed than their tech-eschewing counterparts.
While women were more stressed overall than men, ladies who tweeted, sent or received at least 25 email messages per day and shared photos online actually scored 21% lower on the stress meter than those who didn't.
Of course, with social media use also comes increased knowledge of stressful events in the lives of "friends," especially on Facebook. Both men and women who used sites like Facebook were more aware of stress impacting those in their social networks, which in turn created stress in their own lives. For women, the effect was worse.
For example, women who were aware someone close to them had lost a partner, child or spouse scored 14% higher on the stress meter. Other "costs of caring" for females included hospitalizations and accidents, arrests or job loss/demotion. On the other hand, men were only affected by increased stress if someone close to them had been arrested or accused of a crime or had experienced a demotion or pay cut at work.
So ladies, tweet and message away, but perhaps limit your Facebook stalking to those who seem content.