Social Media Might Not Be Rotting Our Brains as Much as We Think, Twin Study Finds

A new study out this week may complicate the narrative of social media’s supposed draining effects on our mental health. It showed only a small association between social media use and poorer well-being – which is likely explained by our genes.

Researchers in the Netherlands examined data from thousands of twins. They found small associations between heavy social media use and poor mental health, but these associations were often influenced by shared genetic factors. Research shows that social media may not be as universally harmful to our psychological well-being as commonly believed, researchers say.

“Our research helps shift the conversation away from simplistic claims that social media is either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for everyone,” said lead author Selim Sametoglu, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. statement from the institute. “We show that the effects are modest, and more importantly, at least partially shaped by individual genetic differences.”

Clarity of twin research

Twins are very valuable in science. Because they are genetically and often environmentally similar, it makes it easier for scientists to isolate the effects of human genetics on a particular trait, condition, or health outcome. If identical twins are more similar to each other in a certain way than fraternal twins or siblings, for example, then their genes are probably a large factor in that similarity.

In this new study, researchers analyzed data from the Netherlands Twin Register, a Long term project Monitoring the mental and physical health of twins born in the area. As part of the project, the twins and their families are asked various questions about their lives, including how often they use social media.

All told, they studied more than 6,000 identical and fraternal twins. For social media use, they spent time browsing and posting on popular platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat outside of related activities such as playing video games. They also tracked various measures of well-being, including whether people had symptoms of anxiety and depression.

As with previous research on the topic, they found modest links between increased social media use and negative outcomes related to well-being. But upon closer inspection, a person’s genes appear to play a large role in driving this link. People genetically inclined to spend more time on social media, for example, may be more genetically inclined to experience poorer mental health as a result of that time. Researchers estimate that genetics alone can account for 72% of the variation in how often people use social media.

Notably, they found that people in better health tended to browse a greater variety of social media platforms, whereas people in poorer health tended to post more frequently on a smaller group of social media sites. And while most potential associations were mildly negative or nonexistent, the researchers found that higher use of social media was associated with a greater sense of improvement in their lives (for example, someone may report feeling more engaged and interested in their daily activities).

The team was searching published in the journal Behavior Genetics earlier this June.

Think about your social media time

The authors say their work should add more nuance to the discussion about the perceived harms of social media, and they also argue that broad measures to reduce social media use may be counterproductive in their own right.

“We shouldn’t let headlines like ‘social media toxic’ distract us from what really matters: each person’s unique background and current life situation. Simply blaming social media use, or limiting access to platforms, won’t solve our well-being and mental health challenges. Instead, we need to focus on the individual—because genes, context, and holistic factors support it.

Personally, I’m of the mind that, like most things in life, a little moderation goes a long way. So while it’s nice to know that my time on Reddit probably isn’t rotting my brain (too much), I’m still going to take regular breaks from doom-scrolling all the same.