Studies, and reading studies, and "research"
Sandra Dodd
I have a short piece of writing to discuss, but it's a sample to illustrate other, recent, similar things. I'm hoping Pam Sorooshian (when she's back from Massachusetts) and Schuyler Waynforth (who is good at these things), and Joyce and Deb and anyone else who's logical and interested in logic and design, could comment.
Partly this is a problem of internet blogs and sites that want traffic to come to them because they have advertisements. That's been true of newpapers, TV, radio, magazines.... But that's a minor part.
Partly this is a problem of headlines/titles, which are traditionally (in newspaper and magazine tradition) created by editors who might or might not have read the article carefully; who might or might not intend to be honest (rather than sensational) even if they have.
Partly I bring this because sometimes unschooling parents are tired from having young chidlren around all day and night, and pressured by friends and relatives to explain, produce, impress, justify. It makes them jittery, sometimes. Nervous. Reactionary.
Quick, short "reports" on "research" sometimes say things that seen Definite and Important, when looking at the "study" itself shows something very small and flimsy.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
If you don't want to read it there, here's the text (easier for cutting and pasting, too). I'll comment in a response post.
___________________
Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
by ELISE HU
August 20, 201310:35 AM
Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a familiar refrain among company leaders. But the latest research shows connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological cost.
A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.
"There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread," says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist. "With something like half a billion people who use Facebook every day, understanding the consequences of that use on our well being is of critical importance."
Researchers tested the variables of happiness and satisfaction in real time on 82 participants. The researchers text-messaged them five times a day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influenced how they felt. Participants responded to questions about loneliness, anxiety and general emotional well-being.
The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison.
"When you're on a site like Facebook, you get lots of posts about what people are doing. That sets up social comparison — you maybe feel your life is not as full and rich as those people you see on Facebook," he says.
Interestingly, Jonides notes, the study found the effects of Facebook are most pronounced for those who socialize the most "in real life." He says the folks who did the most direct, face-to-face socializing and used social media were the ones who reported the most Facebook-related mood decline.
"It suggests that when you are engaging in social interactions a lot, you're more aware of what others are doing and, consequently, you might be more sensitized about what's happening on Facebook and comparing that to your own life," Jonides says.
The researchers also tested and discounted other reasons for our unhappiness. The University of Michigan notes:
"[Researchers] also found no evidence for two alternative possible explanations for the finding that Facebook undermines happiness. People were not more likely to use Facebook when they felt bad. In addition, although people were more likely to use Facebook when they were lonely, loneliness and Facebook use both independently predicted how happy participants subsequently felt. 'Thus, it was not the case that Facebook use served as a proxy for feeling bad or lonely,' says [lead author Ethan] Kross."
We reached out to Facebook for a response, but got an automatic reply. These findings, however, add data points in our quest to understand Facebook and other social media's effect on our emotional well-being, whether it's the behemoth social network's role after relationships end or our feelings of regret after pressing "share."
If you're feeling bummed, researchers did test for and find a solution. The prescription for Facebook despair is less Facebook. Researchers found that face-to-face or phone interaction — those outmoded, analog ways of communication — had the opposite effect. Direct interactions with other human beings led people to feel better.
Read the full study at PLOS One.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069841#s2
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
At that link, you can read more about the professor, John Jonides.
Only that one person was named. The study has nine "authors," probably students.
My concern here is studies, and helping people think about them, and read them (if they are so inclined), rather than to revile or defend Facebook.
Sandra
Partly this is a problem of internet blogs and sites that want traffic to come to them because they have advertisements. That's been true of newpapers, TV, radio, magazines.... But that's a minor part.
Partly this is a problem of headlines/titles, which are traditionally (in newspaper and magazine tradition) created by editors who might or might not have read the article carefully; who might or might not intend to be honest (rather than sensational) even if they have.
Partly I bring this because sometimes unschooling parents are tired from having young chidlren around all day and night, and pressured by friends and relatives to explain, produce, impress, justify. It makes them jittery, sometimes. Nervous. Reactionary.
Quick, short "reports" on "research" sometimes say things that seen Definite and Important, when looking at the "study" itself shows something very small and flimsy.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
If you don't want to read it there, here's the text (easier for cutting and pasting, too). I'll comment in a response post.
___________________
Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
by ELISE HU
August 20, 201310:35 AM
Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a familiar refrain among company leaders. But the latest research shows connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological cost.
A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.
"There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread," says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist. "With something like half a billion people who use Facebook every day, understanding the consequences of that use on our well being is of critical importance."
Researchers tested the variables of happiness and satisfaction in real time on 82 participants. The researchers text-messaged them five times a day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influenced how they felt. Participants responded to questions about loneliness, anxiety and general emotional well-being.
The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison.
"When you're on a site like Facebook, you get lots of posts about what people are doing. That sets up social comparison — you maybe feel your life is not as full and rich as those people you see on Facebook," he says.
Interestingly, Jonides notes, the study found the effects of Facebook are most pronounced for those who socialize the most "in real life." He says the folks who did the most direct, face-to-face socializing and used social media were the ones who reported the most Facebook-related mood decline.
"It suggests that when you are engaging in social interactions a lot, you're more aware of what others are doing and, consequently, you might be more sensitized about what's happening on Facebook and comparing that to your own life," Jonides says.
The researchers also tested and discounted other reasons for our unhappiness. The University of Michigan notes:
"[Researchers] also found no evidence for two alternative possible explanations for the finding that Facebook undermines happiness. People were not more likely to use Facebook when they felt bad. In addition, although people were more likely to use Facebook when they were lonely, loneliness and Facebook use both independently predicted how happy participants subsequently felt. 'Thus, it was not the case that Facebook use served as a proxy for feeling bad or lonely,' says [lead author Ethan] Kross."
We reached out to Facebook for a response, but got an automatic reply. These findings, however, add data points in our quest to understand Facebook and other social media's effect on our emotional well-being, whether it's the behemoth social network's role after relationships end or our feelings of regret after pressing "share."
If you're feeling bummed, researchers did test for and find a solution. The prescription for Facebook despair is less Facebook. Researchers found that face-to-face or phone interaction — those outmoded, analog ways of communication — had the opposite effect. Direct interactions with other human beings led people to feel better.
Read the full study at PLOS One.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069841#s2
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
At that link, you can read more about the professor, John Jonides.
Only that one person was named. The study has nine "authors," probably students.
My concern here is studies, and helping people think about them, and read them (if they are so inclined), rather than to revile or defend Facebook.
Sandra
Sandra Dodd
Either the blogger or an editor called the article "Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds"
The name of the study is:
Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
Quite different, "Us" and "the subjective well-being" of young adults.
____________
The young adults sampled were obtained this way:
Eighty-two people (Mage = 19.52, SDage = 2.17; 53 females; 60.5% European American, 28.4% Asian, 6.2% African American, and 4.9% other) were recruited for a study on Facebook through flyers posted around Ann Arbor, Michigan. Participants needed a Facebook account and a touch-screen smartphone to qualify for the study. They received $20 and were entered into a raffle to receive an iPad2 for participating.
_____________
I was told, when I studied psychology, that the minimum sample to get results that anyone would accept or respect was 200 subjects. So this study found and used eighty-two people. The "Attrition and compliance" section of the report says three failed to complete the projects and two were eliminated. It doesn't say where the 82 is the before or after number.
I think this paragraph means two people were elminated because one was too happy and one had more friends than the rest. I could be wrong:
"Data from one person who scored 4SDs above the sample mean on the BDI were excluded from the BDI moderation analyses; data from one person who scored 4SDs above the sample mean on number of Facebook friends were excluded from the moderation analyses based on Facebook friends."
I didn't see a note saying which 14 day period this was. Ann Arbor, Michigan is pretty far north. What time of the school year was it? It says "college age" but doesn't say "enrolled at the university," ao that might not matter, but was it near mid-terms? Finals? Was it winter?
The name of the study is:
Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
Quite different, "Us" and "the subjective well-being" of young adults.
____________
The young adults sampled were obtained this way:
Eighty-two people (Mage = 19.52, SDage = 2.17; 53 females; 60.5% European American, 28.4% Asian, 6.2% African American, and 4.9% other) were recruited for a study on Facebook through flyers posted around Ann Arbor, Michigan. Participants needed a Facebook account and a touch-screen smartphone to qualify for the study. They received $20 and were entered into a raffle to receive an iPad2 for participating.
_____________
I was told, when I studied psychology, that the minimum sample to get results that anyone would accept or respect was 200 subjects. So this study found and used eighty-two people. The "Attrition and compliance" section of the report says three failed to complete the projects and two were eliminated. It doesn't say where the 82 is the before or after number.
I think this paragraph means two people were elminated because one was too happy and one had more friends than the rest. I could be wrong:
"Data from one person who scored 4SDs above the sample mean on the BDI were excluded from the BDI moderation analyses; data from one person who scored 4SDs above the sample mean on number of Facebook friends were excluded from the moderation analyses based on Facebook friends."
I didn't see a note saying which 14 day period this was. Ann Arbor, Michigan is pretty far north. What time of the school year was it? It says "college age" but doesn't say "enrolled at the university," ao that might not matter, but was it near mid-terms? Finals? Was it winter?
Sandra Dodd
From the blog post, not from the study:
"The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison."
Perhaps the blogger interviewed the professor. Maybe not. But a jump to a guess isn't scientific study.
I suspect it may have to do with researchers messaging the subjects randomly every three hours, as late as midnight, asking them whether they're unhappy or lonely. That's one factor that could DEFINITELY cause lowered happiness over the day—and having agreed to do that for two weeks, for $20 and a chance to win an iPad.
If even one single family or counsellor reads that and "forbids" or pressures someone to stop using facebook because "it has been proven" that facebook makes people unhappy, that will be a shame.
I think facebook can make people unhappy. So an any negative atmosphere. Some people's facebook experience is extremely negative. Others, not so much at all.
And the report of the study says something like this, too:
__________
A related question concerns whether engaging in any Internet activity (e.g., email, web surfing) would likewise predict well-being declines. Here too prior research suggests that it would not. A number of studies indicate that whether interacting with the Internet predicts changes in well-being depends on how you use it (i.e., what sites you visit) and who you interact with [26].
________________
The closing statement has two qualifying "may"s, too:
"Rather than enhancing well-being, as frequent interactions with supportive “offline” social networks powerfully do, the current findings demonstrate that interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults—it may undermine it."
So, as often happens, the blog report that will be sent around easily (by facebook :-)) over-solidifies the findings, which I think were shaky in the first place from a too-small sample and a too-negative methodology.
Sandra
"The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison."
Perhaps the blogger interviewed the professor. Maybe not. But a jump to a guess isn't scientific study.
I suspect it may have to do with researchers messaging the subjects randomly every three hours, as late as midnight, asking them whether they're unhappy or lonely. That's one factor that could DEFINITELY cause lowered happiness over the day—and having agreed to do that for two weeks, for $20 and a chance to win an iPad.
If even one single family or counsellor reads that and "forbids" or pressures someone to stop using facebook because "it has been proven" that facebook makes people unhappy, that will be a shame.
I think facebook can make people unhappy. So an any negative atmosphere. Some people's facebook experience is extremely negative. Others, not so much at all.
And the report of the study says something like this, too:
__________
A related question concerns whether engaging in any Internet activity (e.g., email, web surfing) would likewise predict well-being declines. Here too prior research suggests that it would not. A number of studies indicate that whether interacting with the Internet predicts changes in well-being depends on how you use it (i.e., what sites you visit) and who you interact with [26].
________________
The closing statement has two qualifying "may"s, too:
"Rather than enhancing well-being, as frequent interactions with supportive “offline” social networks powerfully do, the current findings demonstrate that interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults—it may undermine it."
So, as often happens, the blog report that will be sent around easily (by facebook :-)) over-solidifies the findings, which I think were shaky in the first place from a too-small sample and a too-negative methodology.
Sandra
deborahkmlewis
I haven't read the whole study yet, but that's some significant priming in the five times a day texted survey, which places the "how worried are you" and the "how lonely do you feel" questions just prior to the, "how much have you used Facebook" question.
Deb Lewis
Deb Lewis
Bernadette Lynn
On 25 August 2013 13:39, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
I didn't see a note saying which 14 day period this was. Ann Arbor,
Michigan is pretty far north. What time of the school year was it? It
says "college age" but doesn't say "enrolled at the university," ao that
might not matter, but was it near mid-terms? Finals? Was it winter?
==========================================
Unless they measured the happiness of those same people during a similar
period when they weren't using Facebook they weren't really comparing
like-for-like. People use Facebook during slow moments, when an extrovert
may feel less 'up' anyway. They may be using it to connect with family and
friend who were left behind when they came to university: that might make
them feel a bit down, for a while. I always feel a bit sad when reading
about my family in America and Australia because I miss them, but I missed
them more before we started connecting that way.
The participants may all have been activists of some kind, using Facebook
to keep up with all the terrible things they're working against: that can
get depressing. Although they asked some general questions about usage,
'sharing information' is a pretty broad answer.
Lastly if there's an observable long-term effect, that is if participants
were significantly more depressed after the fortnight was over than at the
beginning of the study, you'd expect them to be suicidal after five or six
years of Facebooking (which is demonstrably not the case for the average
young adult): if they were no more depressed at the end of the study
regardless of individual amounts of Facebook use then I don't
understand how the authors could conclude that the Facebook use was a
negative thing.
Bernadette.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ali Zeljo
And also, there is no causality-- it could go in either direction. Perhaps
those who are feeling sad might turn to Facebook more often to cheer
themselves up, or to distract themselves from their misery!
Ali
those who are feeling sad might turn to Facebook more often to cheer
themselves up, or to distract themselves from their misery!
Ali
On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 12:03 PM, deborahkmlewis <d.lewis@...>wrote:
> **
>
>
> I haven't read the whole study yet, but that's some significant priming in
> the five times a day texted survey, which places the "how worried are you"
> and the "how lonely do you feel" questions just prior to the, "how much
> have you used Facebook" question.
>
> Deb Lewis
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-And also, there is no causality-- it could go in either direction. -=-
Good point.
And the study might have indicated what they were looking for, too�possibly the volunteers were interested in the project (the iPad, but maybe the topic, too). A smallish group, self-selected...
Also, I think getting a text message one needs to respon to, at random times in a long day, five times a day for two weeks, might stress people who weren't even on facebook. :-)
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Good point.
And the study might have indicated what they were looking for, too�possibly the volunteers were interested in the project (the iPad, but maybe the topic, too). A smallish group, self-selected...
Also, I think getting a text message one needs to respon to, at random times in a long day, five times a day for two weeks, might stress people who weren't even on facebook. :-)
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
I think the better conclusion to draw is that people who are needing face to face contact are expecting Facebook to be a substitute but it isn't.
It's like someone who is hungry drinking a glass of water. But they're still hungry and getting hungrier. The conclusion isn't that water makes you hungry. It's that water doesn't satisfy hunger.
Joyce
It's like someone who is hungry drinking a glass of water. But they're still hungry and getting hungrier. The conclusion isn't that water makes you hungry. It's that water doesn't satisfy hunger.
Joyce
barbaramatessa
I agree that these kind of studies are't nearly as helpful as the personal narratives you collect on your website, Sandra, from parents about their children's actual experiences with media. Personal narratives take longer to read, though, and it's harder to draw conclusions from them.
I wonder if anyone has attempted enthnograpy with unschooling families, which would be a different way to collect "data" than personal narrative. It wouldn't be as "objective" as scientific studies claim to be, but it might point to cultural patterns.
As a sensitive person, I need to be conscious and deliberate with media. Long ago I found that cable television had a negative effect on me, especially network news. Now I prefer to hear about current events second hand, and if I want to learn more, I'll seek out a news article online. Sometimes I scan True Reddit for in depth news stories, but I usually find myself feeling depressed, so I'll stop!
Facebook can also trigger a sad, jealous or angry mood for me pretty easily. I found that limiting the number of friends and then "hiding" some of them from my view works best for me. I also consciously limit the number of times I check the site--less really is more for me!
My eight year old son recently got a FB account to play Farmville. He quickly bored of it, and seems to have no interest in FB as a social networking site. I will show him funny pics I see on my FB feed, or cute pictures of my nephew (his cousin).
When he does start to be interested, I hope to be with him as he explores the site, and start a dialogue.
Sometimes those little sound bites from research studies can start a good dialogue, as we're having now! "There's a study out that says FB might trigger social comparison. What do you think about that? I've actually noticed myself wishing I had a tropical vacation when I saw some of my friend's pictures from Hawaii..."
Barb
I wonder if anyone has attempted enthnograpy with unschooling families, which would be a different way to collect "data" than personal narrative. It wouldn't be as "objective" as scientific studies claim to be, but it might point to cultural patterns.
As a sensitive person, I need to be conscious and deliberate with media. Long ago I found that cable television had a negative effect on me, especially network news. Now I prefer to hear about current events second hand, and if I want to learn more, I'll seek out a news article online. Sometimes I scan True Reddit for in depth news stories, but I usually find myself feeling depressed, so I'll stop!
Facebook can also trigger a sad, jealous or angry mood for me pretty easily. I found that limiting the number of friends and then "hiding" some of them from my view works best for me. I also consciously limit the number of times I check the site--less really is more for me!
My eight year old son recently got a FB account to play Farmville. He quickly bored of it, and seems to have no interest in FB as a social networking site. I will show him funny pics I see on my FB feed, or cute pictures of my nephew (his cousin).
When he does start to be interested, I hope to be with him as he explores the site, and start a dialogue.
Sometimes those little sound bites from research studies can start a good dialogue, as we're having now! "There's a study out that says FB might trigger social comparison. What do you think about that? I've actually noticed myself wishing I had a tropical vacation when I saw some of my friend's pictures from Hawaii..."
Barb
Sandra Dodd
-=-Personal narratives take longer to read, though, and it's harder to draw conclusions from them. -=-
Learning about unschooling is only going to happen by someone reading a little, trying a little...
It takes time. It takes thought.
Conclusions should be drawn from personal experience with one's children, not from studies, and not from personal narratives.
This study was a good example of a bad study. It doesn't apply to ANYbody's unschooled kids.
-=-Sometimes those little sound bites from research studies can start a good dialogue, as we're having now! "There's a study out that says FB might trigger social comparison. What do you think about that? I've actually noticed myself wishing I had a tropical vacation when I saw some of my friend's pictures from Hawaii..."-=-
So could watching the news or cable TV. Studies shouldn't exist to give people something to chit-chat about.
And seriously... people have made social comparisons since caveman days, through whose grass hut was better, who has a nicer place in Rome, who lived where in the castle, who had what berth on a ship, whose grass is greener and car is newer.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Learning about unschooling is only going to happen by someone reading a little, trying a little...
It takes time. It takes thought.
Conclusions should be drawn from personal experience with one's children, not from studies, and not from personal narratives.
This study was a good example of a bad study. It doesn't apply to ANYbody's unschooled kids.
-=-Sometimes those little sound bites from research studies can start a good dialogue, as we're having now! "There's a study out that says FB might trigger social comparison. What do you think about that? I've actually noticed myself wishing I had a tropical vacation when I saw some of my friend's pictures from Hawaii..."-=-
So could watching the news or cable TV. Studies shouldn't exist to give people something to chit-chat about.
And seriously... people have made social comparisons since caveman days, through whose grass hut was better, who has a nicer place in Rome, who lived where in the castle, who had what berth on a ship, whose grass is greener and car is newer.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
chris ester
My very first thought, as I haven't read everything yet, is 82 is a very
small number. Particularly since they cited half a billion people are on
facebook....
chris
small number. Particularly since they cited half a billion people are on
facebook....
chris
On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 8:12 AM, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
> I have a short piece of writing to discuss, but it's a sample to
> illustrate other, recent, similar things. I'm hoping Pam Sorooshian (when
> she's back from Massachusetts) and Schuyler Waynforth (who is good at these
> things), and Joyce and Deb and anyone else who's logical and interested in
> logic and design, could comment.
>
>
>
> Partly this is a problem of internet blogs and sites that want traffic to
> come to them because they have advertisements. That's been true of
> newpapers, TV, radio, magazines.... But that's a minor part.
>
> Partly this is a problem of headlines/titles, which are traditionally (in
> newspaper and magazine tradition) created by editors who might or might not
> have read the article carefully; who might or might not intend to be honest
> (rather than sensational) even if they have.
>
> Partly I bring this because sometimes unschooling parents are tired from
> having young chidlren around all day and night, and pressured by friends
> and relatives to explain, produce, impress, justify. It makes them
> jittery, sometimes. Nervous. Reactionary.
>
> Quick, short "reports" on "research" sometimes say things that seen
> Definite and Important, when looking at the "study" itself shows something
> very small and flimsy.
>
>
> http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
>
> If you don't want to read it there, here's the text (easier for cutting
> and pasting, too). I'll comment in a response post.
>
> ___________________
>
> Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
>
> by ELISE HU
> August 20, 201310:35 AM
>
> Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a
> familiar refrain among company leaders. But the latest research shows
> connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological
> cost.
>
> A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the
> more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the
> journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment
> happiness and overall life satisfaction.
>
> "There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread,"
> says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive
> neuroscientist. "With something like half a billion people who use Facebook
> every day, understanding the consequences of that use on our well being is
> of critical importance."
>
> Researchers tested the variables of happiness and satisfaction in real
> time on 82 participants. The researchers text-messaged them five times a
> day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influenced how they felt.
> Participants responded to questions about loneliness, anxiety and general
> emotional well-being.
>
> The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test
> subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social
> comparison.
>
> "When you're on a site like Facebook, you get lots of posts about what
> people are doing. That sets up social comparison � you maybe feel your life
> is not as full and rich as those people you see on Facebook," he says.
>
> Interestingly, Jonides notes, the study found the effects of Facebook are
> most pronounced for those who socialize the most "in real life." He says
> the folks who did the most direct, face-to-face socializing and used social
> media were the ones who reported the most Facebook-related mood decline.
>
> "It suggests that when you are engaging in social interactions a lot,
> you're more aware of what others are doing and, consequently, you might be
> more sensitized about what's happening on Facebook and comparing that to
> your own life," Jonides says.
>
> The researchers also tested and discounted other reasons for our
> unhappiness. The University of Michigan notes:
>
> "[Researchers] also found no evidence for two alternative possible
> explanations for the finding that Facebook undermines happiness. People
> were not more likely to use Facebook when they felt bad. In addition,
> although people were more likely to use Facebook when they were lonely,
> loneliness and Facebook use both independently predicted how happy
> participants subsequently felt. 'Thus, it was not the case that Facebook
> use served as a proxy for feeling bad or lonely,' says [lead author Ethan]
> Kross."
> We reached out to Facebook for a response, but got an automatic reply.
> These findings, however, add data points in our quest to understand
> Facebook and other social media's effect on our emotional well-being,
> whether it's the behemoth social network's role after relationships end or
> our feelings of regret after pressing "share."
>
> If you're feeling bummed, researchers did test for and find a solution.
> The prescription for Facebook despair is less Facebook. Researchers found
> that face-to-face or phone interaction � those outmoded, analog ways of
> communication � had the opposite effect. Direct interactions with other
> human beings led people to feel better.
>
> Read the full study at PLOS One.
>
> http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069841#s2
>
>
> http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
> At that link, you can read more about the professor, John Jonides.
>
> Only that one person was named. The study has nine "authors," probably
> students.
>
> My concern here is studies, and helping people think about them, and read
> them (if they are so inclined), rather than to revile or defend Facebook.
>
> Sandra
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Schuyler
I looked it over and it seems fine. It didn't seem interesting, I figured it was motivated by a desire to tar and feather an already tarred and feathered medium, but it seemed like it was fine. Also a need to publish. Publishing is so important in academia. And Plos One is an interesting journal. David's just submitted a paper there. They don't look at the theory, they don't examine the ideas, the editors are only interested in the analysis. It is an interesting editorial decision.
I noted, as Deb notes, the questions about loneliness and state of mind might lead someone to feel lonely, to say yes it hurts there, if they hadn't already thought about it. David looked at it and said they are all 19, or so. They are all mostly using Facebook to meet up with friends. That might be what is the really telling thing. That 19 year olds who are looking for stuff to do and people to do it with may be looking for more things to do and more people to do it with when they've upped their time on facebook. That their purpose for facebook is really what being examined and not the using of facebook.
What is the finding? It's a vague association between more facebook use and depression. They tried to pin down directionality, but I don't think it's as easy to do as they suggest. In the end what can one say when asked about this study, among social 19 year olds, using facebook to connect with other people, there seems to be an association between increased time on facebook and depression, whether the facebook use is a symptom or a cause is very clearly not demonstrated.
Schuyler
________________________________
From: Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
To: Always Learning <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, 25 August 2013, 22:12
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Studies, and reading studies, and "research"
I have a short piece of writing to discuss,
but it's a sample to illustrate other, recent, similar things. I'm hoping Pam Sorooshian (when she's back from Massachusetts) and Schuyler Waynforth (who is good at these things), and Joyce and Deb and anyone else who's logical and interested in logic and design, could comment.
Partly this is a problem of internet blogs and sites that want traffic to come to them because they have advertisements. That's been true of newpapers, TV, radio, magazines.... But that's a minor part.
Partly this is a problem of headlines/titles, which are traditionally (in newspaper and magazine tradition) created by editors who might or might not have read the article carefully; who might or might not intend to be honest (rather than sensational) even if they have.
Partly I bring this because sometimes unschooling parents are tired from having young chidlren around all day and night, and pressured by friends and relatives to
explain, produce, impress, justify. It makes them jittery, sometimes. Nervous. Reactionary.
Quick, short "reports" on "research" sometimes say things that seen Definite and Important, when looking at the "study" itself shows something very small and flimsy.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
If you don't want to read it there, here's the text (easier for cutting and pasting, too). I'll comment in a response post.
___________________
Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
by ELISE HU
August 20, 201310:35 AM
Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a familiar refrain among company leaders. But the
latest research shows connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological cost.
A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.
"There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread," says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist. "With something like half a billion people who use Facebook every day, understanding the consequences of that use on our well being is of critical importance."
Researchers tested the variables of happiness and satisfaction in real time on 82 participants. The researchers text-messaged them five times a day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influenced how they felt. Participants responded to questions about
loneliness, anxiety and general emotional well-being.
The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison.
"When you're on a site like Facebook, you get lots of posts about what people are doing. That sets up social comparison — you maybe feel your life is not as full and rich as those people you see on Facebook," he says.
Interestingly, Jonides notes, the study found the effects of Facebook are most pronounced for those who socialize the most "in real life." He says the folks who did the most direct, face-to-face socializing and used social media were the ones who reported the most Facebook-related mood decline.
"It suggests that when you are engaging in social interactions a lot, you're more aware of what others are doing and, consequently, you might be more sensitized about what's happening on Facebook and comparing that
to your own life," Jonides says.
The researchers also tested and discounted other reasons for our unhappiness. The University of Michigan notes:
"[Researchers] also found no evidence for two alternative possible explanations for the finding that Facebook undermines happiness. People were not more likely to use Facebook when they felt bad. In addition, although people were more likely to use Facebook when they were lonely, loneliness and Facebook use both independently predicted how happy participants subsequently felt. 'Thus, it was not the case that Facebook use served as a proxy for feeling bad or lonely,' says [lead author Ethan] Kross."
We reached out to Facebook for a response, but got an automatic reply. These findings, however, add data points in our quest to understand Facebook and other social media's effect on our emotional well-being, whether it's the behemoth social network's role after relationships end or our feelings of
regret after pressing "share."
If you're feeling bummed, researchers did test for and find a solution. The prescription for Facebook despair is less Facebook. Researchers found that face-to-face or phone interaction — those outmoded, analog ways of communication — had the opposite effect. Direct interactions with other human beings led people to feel better.
Read the full study at PLOS One.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069841#s2
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
At that link, you can read more about the professor, John Jonides.
Only that
one person was named. The study has nine "authors," probably students.
My concern here is studies, and helping people think about them, and read them (if they are so inclined), rather than to revile or defend Facebook.
Sandra
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I noted, as Deb notes, the questions about loneliness and state of mind might lead someone to feel lonely, to say yes it hurts there, if they hadn't already thought about it. David looked at it and said they are all 19, or so. They are all mostly using Facebook to meet up with friends. That might be what is the really telling thing. That 19 year olds who are looking for stuff to do and people to do it with may be looking for more things to do and more people to do it with when they've upped their time on facebook. That their purpose for facebook is really what being examined and not the using of facebook.
What is the finding? It's a vague association between more facebook use and depression. They tried to pin down directionality, but I don't think it's as easy to do as they suggest. In the end what can one say when asked about this study, among social 19 year olds, using facebook to connect with other people, there seems to be an association between increased time on facebook and depression, whether the facebook use is a symptom or a cause is very clearly not demonstrated.
Schuyler
________________________________
From: Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...>
To: Always Learning <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, 25 August 2013, 22:12
Subject: [AlwaysLearning] Studies, and reading studies, and "research"
I have a short piece of writing to discuss,
but it's a sample to illustrate other, recent, similar things. I'm hoping Pam Sorooshian (when she's back from Massachusetts) and Schuyler Waynforth (who is good at these things), and Joyce and Deb and anyone else who's logical and interested in logic and design, could comment.
Partly this is a problem of internet blogs and sites that want traffic to come to them because they have advertisements. That's been true of newpapers, TV, radio, magazines.... But that's a minor part.
Partly this is a problem of headlines/titles, which are traditionally (in newspaper and magazine tradition) created by editors who might or might not have read the article carefully; who might or might not intend to be honest (rather than sensational) even if they have.
Partly I bring this because sometimes unschooling parents are tired from having young chidlren around all day and night, and pressured by friends and relatives to
explain, produce, impress, justify. It makes them jittery, sometimes. Nervous. Reactionary.
Quick, short "reports" on "research" sometimes say things that seen Definite and Important, when looking at the "study" itself shows something very small and flimsy.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
If you don't want to read it there, here's the text (easier for cutting and pasting, too). I'll comment in a response post.
___________________
Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds
by ELISE HU
August 20, 201310:35 AM
Facebook's mission "to make the world more open and connected" is a familiar refrain among company leaders. But the
latest research shows connecting 1.1 billion users around the world may come at a psychological cost.
A new University of Michigan study on college-aged adults finds that the more they used Facebook, the worse they felt. The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found Facebook use led to declines in moment-to-moment happiness and overall life satisfaction.
"There's a huge amount of interest ... because Facebook is so widespread," says research co-author John Jonides, a University of Michigan cognitive neuroscientist. "With something like half a billion people who use Facebook every day, understanding the consequences of that use on our well being is of critical importance."
Researchers tested the variables of happiness and satisfaction in real time on 82 participants. The researchers text-messaged them five times a day for two weeks to examine how Facebook use influenced how they felt. Participants responded to questions about
loneliness, anxiety and general emotional well-being.
The study authors did not get at the reasons Facebook made their test subjects feel glum. But Jonides suspects it may have to do with social comparison.
"When you're on a site like Facebook, you get lots of posts about what people are doing. That sets up social comparison — you maybe feel your life is not as full and rich as those people you see on Facebook," he says.
Interestingly, Jonides notes, the study found the effects of Facebook are most pronounced for those who socialize the most "in real life." He says the folks who did the most direct, face-to-face socializing and used social media were the ones who reported the most Facebook-related mood decline.
"It suggests that when you are engaging in social interactions a lot, you're more aware of what others are doing and, consequently, you might be more sensitized about what's happening on Facebook and comparing that
to your own life," Jonides says.
The researchers also tested and discounted other reasons for our unhappiness. The University of Michigan notes:
"[Researchers] also found no evidence for two alternative possible explanations for the finding that Facebook undermines happiness. People were not more likely to use Facebook when they felt bad. In addition, although people were more likely to use Facebook when they were lonely, loneliness and Facebook use both independently predicted how happy participants subsequently felt. 'Thus, it was not the case that Facebook use served as a proxy for feeling bad or lonely,' says [lead author Ethan] Kross."
We reached out to Facebook for a response, but got an automatic reply. These findings, however, add data points in our quest to understand Facebook and other social media's effect on our emotional well-being, whether it's the behemoth social network's role after relationships end or our feelings of
regret after pressing "share."
If you're feeling bummed, researchers did test for and find a solution. The prescription for Facebook despair is less Facebook. Researchers found that face-to-face or phone interaction — those outmoded, analog ways of communication — had the opposite effect. Direct interactions with other human beings led people to feel better.
Read the full study at PLOS One.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0069841#s2
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/19/213568763/researchers-facebook-makes-us-sadder-and-less-satisfied
At that link, you can read more about the professor, John Jonides.
Only that
one person was named. The study has nine "authors," probably students.
My concern here is studies, and helping people think about them, and read them (if they are so inclined), rather than to revile or defend Facebook.
Sandra
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]