Effects of a Brief Exposure to Nature or Social Media on Psychological Well-Being

Author

Megan C. Hall, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Samantha L. McMichael, Arizona State UniversityFollow
Virginia SY Kwan, Arizona State UniversityFollow

Volume

29

Number

1

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2023

Abstract

Social media has enhanced our ability to connect with each other globally; however, social media is not necessarily beneficial. Given the potential negative impact of social media use on psychological well-being, it is important to identify resources that may buffer this impact. One resource may be exposure to nature. Participants exposed to nature scenes experienced less negative affect compared to those exposed to social media. Those who spent more time outside tended to experience decreased negative affect when they viewed both social media and nature photos, but when viewing only social media, they experienced increased negative affect. Relations between humans, social media, and nature, are complex, and further research into these relations and their underlying causes may be beneficial.

Keyword

social media; exposure to nature; negative affect; future self; social comparisons; psychological well-being

Discipline

Psychology

Document Type

article

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Recommended Citation

Hall, Megan C.; McMichael, Samantha L.; and Kwan, Virginia SY (2023) "Effects of a Brief Exposure to Nature or Social Media on Psychological Well-Being," Modern Psychological Studies: Vol. 29: No. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholar.utc.edu/mps/vol29/iss1/3