Khaberni - A new study reported that those who post content on social media during the night are more susceptible to poor mental health, as these nocturnal users reported higher symptoms of depression and anxiety.
While most previous studies focused on the rate of social media use, the experts behind this research aimed to assess whether timing plays a role. They analyzed the night-time posting habits on the "X" platform to measure this phenomenon.
These data were linked with a long-term study tracking the health of residents in West England, known as the Children of the 90s study. About 310 individuals were selected to participate in the study based on the timing of their tweets and when they answered questionnaires about their mental health.
Overall, the researchers examined 18,288 tweets, including retweets, posted between January 2008 and February 2023, before the platform changed its name from "Twitter" to "X".
The study found that individuals who tweeted on average during the night hours from 11 PM to 5 AM appeared to "suffer from significantly worse mental health than those who tweeted during the day".
The authors, led by academics from the University of Bristol, noted that tweeting at night accounts for about 2% of the variance in mental health. They also found a correlation between nighttime tweeting and depression and anxiety, but these associations were not as strong.
The team explained how using social media at night "could replace sleep" as people stay awake to use it. They added that posting and messaging at night could lead to "cognitive arousal," and that the blue light from smartphones could "inhibit the production of melatonin hormone".
They wrote in the journal Scientific Reports: "All these factors may combine to delay the onset of sleep, leading to poor sleep quality and duration. In turn, improving sleep outcomes is linked to better mental health."
Daniel Johnson, a PhD researcher at the University of Bristol and the lead author of the paper said: "While social media is often treated as a single block, its impact on mental health will depend on the specific behaviors performed by the user and the experiences they undergo on these platforms. Our research highlights the potential harm of a very specific behavior: posting content at night. Research like ours can help develop interventions or legislations aimed at deterring harmful social media use, while enabling beneficial behaviors or experiences."
