Technology
Amanda E. Halliburton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychological Science
University of North Georgia
Dahlonega, Georgia
Social media (SM) use can be beneficial for identity development and social support, but it can also facilitate negative social comparisons or self-evaluations (Vannucci et al., 2017). In particular, people with social anxiety (SA) may feel pressure to perform in online social interactions and avoid potential conflicts (Markovitzky et al., 2012; Shaw et al., 2015). Relaxation and mindfulness exercises may help these individuals cope with difficult social situations (Thurston et al., 2017). This seems especially important given that SM has become an essential tool for communicating safely during the pandemic (Shah et al., 2020). In this study, I investigated the use of CBT interventions to reduce distress among young adults with SA symptoms following rejection in an online context. Participants completed an eligibility survey to assess their level of SA and frequency of engagement with SM apps, among other things. The sample was gathered from undergraduate students (N = 118, Mage = 18.91, SD = 1.84) enrolled at a state university in the Southeastern U.S. Most participants identified as White/Caucasian (72.9%) but Hispanic/Latinx (16.1%), Asian/Asian American (2.5%), Black/African American (2.5%), Native American/American Indian (1.7%) and biracial/multiracial (4.2%) individuals were represented. Most participants identified as female (78.8%). Of these participants, a small pilot group (N=14) agreed to participate in a follow-up task. During this task, participants chose an avatar, wrote a bio, and participated in a SM simulation (Schneider et al., 2017; Wolf et al., 2015) in which they could ‘like’ profiles of other students who they believed were participating in the study from another location. In reality, the bios were written by research assistants and ‘likes’ were automatically assigned on a timer. Participants received a lower number of ‘likes’ than others in the study. After this, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: listening to a recording of nature sounds, listening to a progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) recording, and listening to a mindful body scan (BS) recording. Finally, participants completed manipulation checks, provided feedback on their experiences during the simulation and recording tasks and were debriefed by research assistants. Participants’ average distress (SUDS) scores decreased significantly after listening to any of the three recordings (t(13) = 2.453, p = .029). Of note, the PMR and BS groups (M = 3.50, SD = .548) reported a better perception of their experience in the simulation compared to those in the nature sounds (control) group (M = 2.88, SD = .641) at a level that approaches statistical significance (t(12) = -1.917, p = .079). While findings from this preliminary study should be interpreted cautiously, they suggest that CBT interventions such as mindfulness and relaxation exercises could be used to reduce distress associated with rejection on SM. Further research should be conducted with a larger and more diverse sample, including those formally diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder. Future studies could also directly compare the effectiveness of relaxation and mindfulness interventions, adding to the growing literature on mechanisms of change.