At a Basic Level, Academic Review of social media, the Cost of Connecting, Communicating, and Sharing Information

Social media has had profound effects on the modern world. Continuing to be the largest social media company by far, Facebook has 2.3 billion monthly active users worldwide (Facebook 2018). As of 2016, the average user was spending 50 minutes a day on Facebook and sister platforms Instagram and Messenger (Facebook 2016). There may be no technology since television that has so dramatically reshaped the way people acquire information and spend time. (“A "gold standard" study finds deleting Facebook is great for your ...”) Speculation about the welfare impact of social media followed a familiar trajectory, with early optimism about potential benefits prompting widespread concerns about potential harms. At a fundamental level, social media significantly reduces the cost of connecting, communicating, and sharing information with others. Given that interpersonal connections are among the most important drivers of happiness and well-being (Myers 2000; Reis, Collins, and Berscheid 2000; Argyle 2001; Chopik 2017), this can be expected to bring widespread improvements in individual well-being. (“NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES - National Bureau of Economic Research”) Many also pointed to broader social benefits, from facilitating protest and resistance in autocratic countries to promoting activism and political participation in established democracies (Howard et al. 2011; Kirkpatrick 2011). More recent discussions have focused on several possible negative effects. At the individual level, many pointed to negative associations between heavy social media use and both subjective well-being and mental health. Negative outcomes such as suicide and depression seem to have increased sharply over the same period as the use of smartphones and social media. Media expanded Alter (2018) and Newport (2019), along with other academics and prominent Silicon Valley executives in the “time well spent” movement, argue that digital media devices and social media apps are harmful and addictive. (“Social media and its effects on people - SlideShare”)