What is it about?
While social media is often full of positive emotional content, those browsing it don't always have positive responses. Here, we found that a brief training on using positive empathy online improves the well-being of social media users. Individuals who were told to share and care about the positive emotions of those they care about online had higher emotional well-being and life satisfaction compared to those who browsed as usual.
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Photo by Adem AY on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The debate over the impact of social media on well-being is of increasing societal importance. Yet the effect of social media varies greatly across different people and platforms. By understanding how specific psychological experiences online impact well-being in the context of social media, we can better understand this relationship--and learn to improve it.
Perspectives
I hope this article helps to move our understand of empathy and social media forward. I also hope it will encourage individuals to think about how they psychologically engage with the content on their own social media feeds, and, perhaps, help them engage in a more beneficial way.
Gregory Depow
University of California San Diego
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A positive empathy intervention to improve well-being on Instagram., Emotion, January 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/emo0001489.
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