The Impact of Constant Connectivity: Examining the Relationships Between Social Media, Loneliness, Anxiety and Avoidant Behaviors

Conflicting evidence has been found in the past regarding the overall effect of social media on mental health. Social media, when used as a means to combat feelings of loneliness and anxiety, may be a form of avoidance away from those considered undesirable feelings. Avoiding these feelings may ultimately intensify instead of minimizing them. The focus of this study is to examine the relationship between avoidant behaviors, loneliness, anxiety and social media use. It is predicted that social media use, loneliness and anxiety will all be predictors of avoidant behaviors. 150 college-aged participants will complete three previously established scales, measuring levels of anxiety, feelings of loneliness and tendency towards avoidant behaviors. Participants will also report their average hours per week spent on social media. Comparing the scores of the completed scales as well as the average time spent on social media may illustrate a correlation between avoidance, feelings of loneliness and anxiety, and the role that social media plays in each. It is hypothesized that feelings of loneliness, feelings of anxiety and time spent on social media will all be predictors of avoidant behaviors. It is also hypothesized that time spent on social media, loneliness and anxiety will all be positively correlated with each other. Addressing the effects of social media on mental health may aid in developing a useful framework by informing people of the ill effects inherent in social media and its use in perpetuating avoidant behaviors. Running Head: THE IMPACT OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY 3 The Impact of Constant Connectivity: Examining the Relationships Between Social Media, Loneliness, Anxiety and Avoidant Behaviors Sherry Turkle is a cultural analyst who studies how technology is shaping modern relationships with ourselves and others. In her TED Talk Connected, but alone? she discusses how cellphones have disrupted our ability to relate to others and understand ourselves. Social media provides us with the illusion of constant companionship as at least 3.5 billion people out of a global population of 7.7 billion people currently use social media today (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). The percentage of US adults who use social media rose to 79% in 2019 from only 5% in 2005 (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). Especially for smartphone owners, social stimulation is always at one’s fingertips: In the US, adults spend on average more than 6 hours per day on the internet (Ortiz-Ospina, 2019). The notion that individuals never have to be alone because of constant access to other people via social media has changed the human psyche to no longer view solitude as a necessary and healthy part of the human experience but to instead view aloneness as something to be avoided. Individuals now use technology to define themselves by what they share and how others react to what they share; when one does not feel validation and connection, one does not feel like themself (Turkle, 2012). The act of seeking external validation in an attempt to construct internal validation leads to an unsatisfying cycle of individuals expecting the other people in their lives to fulfill them in a way that others are unable to do sustainably. When people are unable to feel consistently fulfilled by others, they internalize a sense of inadequacy and disconnection. Now, instead of being viewed as an essential, although sometimes painful, part of the human experience as it once was, loneliness is now seen as a character flaw (Turkle, 2012). By conceptualizing loneliness as a character fault, individuals are encouraged to actively suppress feelings of loneliness or at least prioritize combatting those Running Head: THE IMPACT OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY 4 feelings. This shift in how the human psyche views loneliness has resulted in a major psychological change that has infiltrated cultural expectations and values. Feeling alone now feels like a problem that needs to be solved. Because of a shift in the human psyche that has left humans feeling like their loneliness is a result of social disconnection, feelings of loneliness oftentimes causes anxiety. As a way of combatting uncomfortable feelings of loneliness, it is now common for one to reflexively reach for a device in an attempt to quickly connect and negate those feelings of loneliness and disconnection (Turkle, 2012). Reaching for a device as a means of avoiding unpleasant emotions can very quickly turn into an emotional crutch. This reflex of grabbing a device at the first feeling of loneliness ultimately leads to isolation instead of connection; it eliminates the need to develop a capacity for solitude (Turkle, 2012). This proves to be harmful since the ability to be alone is an important aspect of cultivating sustainable and healthy relationships. To form real attachments with others, it is important for an individual to have a sense of self first (Turkle, 2012). When someone lacks the capacity for solitude, they feel uncomfortable with themself and turn to other people in order to feel less anxious (Turkle, 2012). Asking others to fill a void that only an individual can fill themselves perpetuates feelings of loneliness and isolation. Unable to appreciate others for who they are, individuals oftentimes find themselves using others as spare parts in an attempt to construct or uphold their own fragile sense of self. Many people today are under the false impression that always being connected decreases feelings of loneliness, when in reality, the opposite is true. When one is unable to be alone, they will only feel more lonely. Noticing these patterns, psychologists have begun to study the relationship between technology, feelings of loneliness and feelings of anxiety that have become more prominent with the introduction of social media sites to everyday life. For example, researchers have found Running Head: THE IMPACT OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY 5 everyday technology use is correlated with loneliness (Esen et al., 2013), anxiety (Tonioni et al., 2012), and avoidant behaviors (Moqbel & Kock, 2018) among other constructs. However, researchers are yet to explicitly consider the use of technology, often conceptualized as a mechanism to suppress anxiety, as a factor that predicts increased anxiety and feelings of loneliness. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between avoidant behavioral tendencies, social media usage and feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Social Media & Emotional Processing As the internet has expanded to include avenues for communication such as social media, social psychologists have endeavored to understand the implications of the internet on humans’ social landscapes. In the last 10 years, Social Networking Sites (SNS) have begun to be analyzed in the context of emotional processing and distraction (Moqbel & Kock, 2018). SNS, for example, can be addictive, encourage task distraction behaviors, decrease productivity, and inhibit positive emotions (Moqbel & Kock, 2018). However, not all research has found that SNS have overall negative effects. For example, the minority of Instagram users have reported engaging in unhealthy or problematic behaviors on the site (Craske et al., 1987). Regardless of an overall positive or negative effect on emotional processing, the ubiquitous nature of SNS in the everyday experience of the average young adult cannot be ignored. For many teenagers, social media sites and online communication methods such as instant messaging have replaced face-to-face interactions (Pierce, 2009). This shift may present socioemotional problems since higher levels of internet use are correlated with weaker social ties (Sanders et al., 2000) and higher levels of loneliness (Esen et al., 2013). Researchers have also found a correlation between a loss of interest in communicating with real people and psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression (Tonioni et al., 2012). This disinterest in real life communication may be a Running Head: THE IMPACT OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY 6 manifestation of a desire to escape reality. For instance, it was found that excessive use of the SNS Instagram is related with the perception that a person is escaping reality (Kircaburun & Griffiths, 2018). Spending time on social media as a way to escape reality is considered an unhealthy coping mechanism since one is refusing to acknowledge and process emotions and instead engaging with others via the internet as a distraction. Although avoidance may provide short term relief from uncomfortable emotions, the long-term increased levels of anxiety are maintained through the negative reinforcement of unhealthy coping mechanisms as well as a refusal to acknowledge and process emotions (Craske et al., 1987). This concept of avoiding unpleasant emotions for short term relief is called experiential avoidance. While experiential avoidance may provide an immediate sense of relief and control, the long-term effects are oftentimes isolating. Experiential Avoidance Avoidance of unpleasant emotions is a common coping mechanism in which an individual engages in distracting behaviors in an attempt to suppress the unpleasant emotion they are experiencing. Definitionally, experiential avoidance is an individual’s unwillingness or aversion to uncomfortable thoughts and feelings (Hayes et al., 1996). Avoiding discomfort is a natural human function but, when chronic, may contribute to the development of a variety of psychological difficulties such as substance abuse, anxiety, depression and trauma-related difficulties (Craske et al., 1987; Hayes et al., 1996). Many of these problematic behaviors may be repeated and become habitual because of the short-term reduction in unwanted internal events with which they are associated (Roemer, 2005). For instance, experiential avoidance is inversely correlated with well-being (Machell et al., 2015), is positively correlated with worse overall moods due to an inclination towards negativit