Summary: A new study finds a link between increased social media use and the likelihood of experiencing social media-related nightmares. These nightmares, often involving themes of cyberbullying, online hate, or excessive social media use, are associated with negative mental health outcomes like anxiety and depression.
The research introduces the Social Media Nightmare-Related Scale (SMNS) to quantify this phenomenon and calls for further investigation into the impact of social media on dreams.
Key Facts:
- Increased social media use is linked to higher chances of experiencing social media-related nightmares.
- Social media-related nightmares are associated with negative mental health outcomes.
- The SMNS scale quantifies the impact of social media on nightmares.
Source: Flinders University
The more time you spend on social media, the greater the likelihood of having unpleasant social-media related dreams that cause distress, sleep disruption and impact our peace of mind.
Flinders University’s Reza Shabahang says that the vast and rapid adoption of social media has the potential to influence various aspects of life, including the realm of dreaming.
“As social media becomes increasingly intertwined with our lives, its impact extends beyond waking hours, and may influence our dreams,” says Mr Shabahang from the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.
Mr Shabahang has developed a new scale, the Social Media Nightmare-Related Scale (SMNS), that can quantify how social media could contribute to our nightmares.
The SMNS was developed by integrating literature on dreaming, nightmares, and the relationship between media and dreams, with a focus on specific themes related to social media use, such as helplessness, loss of control and victimisation.
“Our study introduces the concept of social media-related nightmares, which are defined as nightmares that involve social media-related themes, such as cyberbullying, online hate or excessive social media use,” says Mr Shabahang.
“Whilst social media-related nightmares are relatively rare, those who use social media more during their daily lives are more likely to have social media-related nightmares that are associated with negative mental health outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, and sleep quality.
“This study provides insights into the complex relationships between social media use, mental health, and sleep quality,” he says.
He warns that as the technological landscape continues to evolve, further research needs to explore the effects of social media on users’ dreaming experiences.
“With the rapid advances in technology and media, including artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality, along with the increasing dependency on these technologies and deeper integration, it is anticipated that dreams featuring technological and media content will become more frequent,” he says.
“Future studies have the potential to expand the scope of this exploration, delving into areas such as nightmares related to the perceived dangers of AI.
“To mitigate the occurrence of social media-related nightmares we recommend adopting a responsible and mindful use of social media,” he adds.
About this social media and sleep research news
Author: Karen Ashford
Source: Flinders University
Contact: Karen Ashford – Flinders University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Social media-related nightmare — a potential explanation for poor sleep quality and low affective well-being in the social media era?” by Reza Shabahang et al. BMC Psychology
Abstract
Social media-related nightmare — a potential explanation for poor sleep quality and low affective well-being in the social media era?
Research has posited that social media use during the day may be reflected in nighttime dreams. Nevertheless, no prior studies have explored frightening, unpleasant dreams arising from social media use.
This study introduces the construct of the social media-related nightmare by (a) developing and validating a scale capturing negative-valenced dreams with themes of helplessness, loss of control, inhibition, victimization, and making mistakes in social media, and (b) examining relationships between social media use, social media-related nightmares, sleep quality, and affective well-being.
A convenience sample of 595 Iranian adult social media users (Mage = 27.45, SDage = 11.42) reported on social media-related nightmare, social media use integration, anxiety, peace of mind, sleep quality, and nightmare distress.
The Social Media-Related Nightmare Scale (SMNS) demonstrated a unidimensional structure with sound psychometric properties. The most common nightmares involved the inability to log in to social media and the disruption of relationships with other users. Social media use intensity predicted frequency of social media-related nightmares.
These nightmares were correlated with increased anxiety, lower peace of mind, poor sleep quality, and nightmare distress.
Importantly, social media-related nightmares mediated the relationship between social media use intensity and low affective well-being (i.e., anxiety and peace of mind), poor sleeping, and nightmare distress.
The findings suggest that social media-related nightmares could be a potential pathway through which social media engagement may lead to affective distress and sleep difficulties.
