Social media is not the route to happiness. But who said it should be?

Right now there is a strange obsession with happiness in socieities ; 4,000 books were published on the subject in 2008, compared to 50 in 2000. And as is usual with any topic concerning human connections or morals in societies, the finger is being pointed at social media for essentially making us unhappier, disconnected and dejected humans. The argument is a strange one because it levels an accusation at social media that is entirely nonsensical. It is not the role of technology or the internet to make us happy, but that which it does bring : increased knowledge of the world around you, ability to connect with anyone regardless of geography and a more instantaneous connection with disparate societies is surely more important than happiness?

The research

The frustrating thing about this subject is that there is always a study or two that cuts right to heart of human motivations and concerns, with a headline-grabbing summary that makes social media into the big baddy. What’s worrying is that it is far too early to begin examining social media in this way : we are just only starting to use it for communication and the impacts of this may not really be seen for over a hundred years. And with social media being in its infancy, we can’t expect studies into this to provide any sort of reliable results.

Yet that doesn’t stop these studies from being published and listened to. Recently, Stanford University published the results of a survey among just over 3,000 girls aged 8-12, where they explored their relationship with social media and the effect on happiness. The study concluded that the girls who said they spend more time engaging with social media, found they had increased feelings of unhapiness and social awkwardness. Firstly, the age group at the centre of this study should be approached extremely carefully. Turning to young children as they enter their teens to give a reliable indication of whether or not social media makes us happy or not, is questionable. Secondly, it is far too deep a subject to be explored via a short online survey, as this one was. Frustratingly, the researchers admit these flaws, yet still hold the results to be a good indicator regardless.

Let’s not forget just how short a time we have been living with social media, before we seek to find its negative (or positive) impacts on society.

Why happiness?

What’s also strange, is the idea that social media in some way owes us happiness, that this is what it was created for. Yet when we look at the whole reason the internet was developed in the first place, knowledge and collaboration were the motivators. It was to develop a medium that allowed academics to collaborate and share documents in a way that wasn’t previously possible. This has since developed wonderfully to allow connections all over the world, continually contributing to increased knowledge of the world. But that doesn’t mean it has to bring us happiness. Maybe these things are more important than happiness.

This is why research into social media’s affect on happiness is fundamentally flawed. It is looking for answers in the wrong place. Instead of looking deeply into happy/unhappy people and what motivates them, we are instead starting with the technology and looking to apportion blame. What if social media is initially going to bring about a feeling of unhappiness as you gain a different context into your position in the world, before using this knowledge to developer into a different, adjusted self?

Some perspective

Unsurprisingly, the concept of happiness has never sat well in societies and has been discussed for centuries, with ever-conflicting arguments. While there has never been agreement on this, it is interesting to look back at Socrates’ opinion of happiness. He claimed that a well-functioning, flourishing society is far more important than any one person’s own happiness. This argument was made around 400 BC yet it is something that can absolutely be applied to social technologies today. What they do is to connect societies in new ways, opening up the discourse for collaboration and sharing knowledge, instead of a more separatist attitude we may have been forced to adopt due to technological limitations.

Now, a disaster that happens somewhere in the Middle East for example, can very quickly become a worldwide concern not just for the media, but for individuals. We can all follow the action live, and importantly rally round as a complete, connecte group to aide those in need. And whether this comes from online donations, pledges of support, or developers using the technologies we have to build tools such as mapping disaster areas live, this unarguable contributes to a more flourishing society. And while happiness may not be on the agenda, the end-result for a smaller group who may be in need for that help is far more important than this.

So no, social media is not there to make us happy. It goes way beyond that.