This summary is provided by the IPR Digital Media Research Center
Victoria Oldemburgo de Mello, Dr. Felix Cheung, and Dr. Michael Inzlicht analyzed how X impacts user well-being, political polarization, outrage, and sense of belonging.
A survey of 309 X users was conducted from March – June 2021.
Key findings include:
1.) Respondents said they used the platform for entertainment (66%), followed by information seeking (49%), and to interact with others (23%).
2.) Different actions on X predicted behavior outcomes:
— “Scrolling down the feed” predicted a decrease in well-being.
— “Replying to others’ tweets,” “visiting trending topics,” and “visiting others’ profiles” predicted an increase in a “sense of belonging.”
— “Retweeting” predicted an increase in polarization.
3.) X use was related to overall decreases in well-being and increases in a sense of belonging, polarization, outrage, and boredom.
4.) Users who frequented the platform were found to be “lonelier” and “more bored.”
— Users who frequently retweeted content were found to be “more polarized.”
Learn more about how X affects user well-being and emotional wellness
