The relationship between social media usage and mental health is the topic of Milieu Insight latest study, released on Aug 17 (Wednesday).
The study covered a number of topics, including social media usage and behaviour, and made use of the Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI) assessment, which is utilized for measuring cognitive and behavioural aspects of body image anxiety.
Milieu brought together a panel of industry experts to discuss the study’s findings.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the study:
— According to the AAI assessment scale, 17 per cent of Singapore’s adult population, defined as those ages 16 and above, are potentially at risk of having body image anxiety, with the risk being greater for females, aged between 16 and 24.
— Singaporean adults spend an average of 2 hours and 30 minutes per day on social media.
— Respondents who spend 3 hours or more on social media are statistically more likely to be at risk for body image anxiety.
— Singaporeans who use TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter every day are statistically more likely to be at risk of having a degree of body image anxiety.
— In particular, those who spend 3 or more hours every day on TikTok and Instagram have the highest potential risk of body image anxiety.
— However, those at risk of body image anxiety are statistically less likely to use Facebook daily, the study noted, adding that Facebook users are often older than those who use Instagram and TikTok, which could be the reason why.
Another interesting result from the study is that the respondents who are at risk of body image anxiety are more likely to report being influenced by social media influencers and celebrities, especially Korean celebrities.
“Social media has created exciting opportunities as well as new challenges. In this digital age, the key to mitigating the adverse impact of social media is not a singular approach within the ecosystem, but a collaborative one. This study showed us that those who excessively engage in highly visual social platforms like Instagram and TikTok are statistically likely to suffer from body image anxiety.
This aligns with the experiences we have at CARE Singapore – Videos and photos that propagate certain body types and beauty standards can evoke negative feelings and perceptions of one’s own body types, fuelling anxiousness, insecurity, and even jealousy.
This study by Milieu Insight quantifies the impact of excessive social media on body image issues and underlines its seriousness, initiating that we must come together to mitigate the risk factors,” said Lena Teo, the Director of CARE Singapore.
Meanwhile, the COO of Milieu Insight, Stephen Tracy, said, “Over the years many of the big app makers and social media companies have taken steps to introduce health and safety features, such as Instagram’s daily time limit and TikTok’s screen time breaks feature. And I applaud them for this.
But I think much more can and should do more to promote awareness and usage of such features. But striking a healthy balance of social media usage also needs involvement from everyone, including parents, teachers, friends and even the government. And I believe the results of this study highlight just how important it is for everyone to play their part in helping to prevent over-usage of social media.” /TISG