APA: The more social media users use, the more psychological stress they experience

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Technology has not brought more leisure time to people, but has increased people's stress. The time spent on social media by American adults continues to grow, but this is not a good thing. According to a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), people's constant access to social media has brought them more stress.

According to Nielsen data, the time spent by American adults on social media increased by 36% to 5 hours and 30 minutes per week between the third quarter of 2015 and the third quarter of 2016. APA's survey also showed that 43% of American adults constantly check their social media accounts, emails and text messages.

The survey found that those respondents who checked their social media accounts frequently reported greater stress.

There are many sources of anxiety, including discussions about politics and culture on social media; the negative impacts of social media on physical and mental health; and feeling disconnected from family even in face-to-face gatherings.

Millennials are more concerned about the negative effects of social media than older generations. The APA found that nearly half of millennial respondents worry that social media can affect their physical and mental health, compared to 37% of Gen Xers and 22% of baby boomers.

Millennials are also more concerned than other generations about technology alienating them from their families. In the APA survey, millennials reported the most stress from technology, which makes sense given their higher technology usage.

According to Nielsen, millennials spend an average of 18 hours a week online on their smartphones, compared to the overall average of 15 hours.

The APA survey also found that millennials are more dependent on mobile devices, with nearly two-thirds of millennials saying so, compared with only 47% of Gen Xers and 26% of baby boomers.

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