From its origins in Hinduism, Buddhism, and yoga, mindfulness has hit the mainstream and is now the subject of intense psychological research. Mindfulness meditation training, a big business, caters to people seeking to counteract the numerous distractions of modern-day life. Mindfulness describes a person’s ability to focus on the present. It differs from other types of self-awareness as a non-judgmental form of perception. “Trait mindfulness” includes “non-critical attentional focus on present experiences, cognitions, perceptions, and emotions” (p. 1). Prior research has shown that efforts to cultivate trait mindfulness can lead to better mental and physical health.
Social media use can be a particularly distracting activity and, for some users, can generate problems in various daily living activities. What constitutes “problematic social media use” and how is it measured? According to the authors, “problematic use involves devoting a great amount of time and energy using social media,” and it can impair “social activities, interpersonal relationships, studies, job, or health and well-being” (p. 1). There are several validated questionnaires currently available to measure problematic social media use.
The authors’ goal was to analyze prior studies of mindfulness that assess its connection to problematic social media use. Fourteen studies of 5355 participants met inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Sixty percent of the sample was female and the mean age was 22.
The analysis found a negative correlation exists between the two variables of interest. When higher levels of problematic social media use are observed, there is a moderate but significant correlation with lower levels of mindfulness.
Since a causal relationship cannot be inferred from this data, it’s premature to propose that problematic social media use causes lower mindfulness OR that lower mindfulness causes problematic social media use. This data simply identifies that a relationship exists between these variables.
Other research has found a bidirectional relationship between mindfulness and problematic social media use. Low mindfulness may lead to problematic social media use which, in turn, may lead to even less mindfulness in the future. However, positive changes in one may lead to positive changes in the other: “A reciprocal relationship also suggests that the effects of mindfulness interventions on problematic social media use could lead to a beneficial upward spiral, with greater mindfulness leading to lower problematic use, which may lead to further improvement in trait mindfulness.” (p. 7).
Training to enhance mindfulness may have the double effect of improved mindfulness and reduction in problematic social media use. The authors noted: “these improvements in cognition can aid in changing the automatic and habitual responses to cravings and external stimuli that lead an individual to engage in problematic behaviour” (p. 7).
Ever wondered if you are mindful? If you would like to take the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (cited in this study), you can access it HERE. The pdf includes self-scoring instructions.
Meynadier, J., Malouff, J. M., Loi, N. M., & Schutte, N. S. (2023). Lower Mindfulness is Associated with Problematic Social Media Use: A Meta-Analysis. Current Psychology, 1-10.
©Jennie Dilworth, Ph.D