Social media use, psychological well-being and physical health during lockdown

ABSTRACT

In efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, many countries have implemented a variety of lockdown and quarantine measures. With substantially reduced face-to-face interactions, many people may have relied heavily on social media for connection, information, and entertainment. However, little is known about the psychological and physical health implications of social media use during strict lockdown. The current study investigates the associations of social media use with psychological well-being and physical health among Wuhan residents (N = 1214). Our findings showed that non-COVID related self-disclosure was positively associated with psychological well-being, while COVID related information consumption and sharing were negatively associated with psychological well-being. Further, more generic use of social media was associated with lower psychological well-being, which in turn related to more somatic symptoms. Quarantined people used social media more frequently than non-quarantined people. Importantly, the negative association between social media use and psychological well-being was significantly stronger for quarantined people than unquarantined people.