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Twitter’s Role in Loneliness

As one of the biggest Social Networking Sites (SNS), Twitter has proven how such sites

have turned into a ubiquitous aspect of most individuals' lives. The widespread of Twitter users

among people of all ages have indeed compelled a flurry of correlational research on the

connection between its use and loneliness. Loneliness can be termed as an emotional state where

an individual experiences aspects like being in an unpleasant form full of inconsistency in his or

her desire degree of social connectedness. Social media sites like Twitter can assist people in

staying emotionally and socially connected with others globally. Therefore, Twitter can be

termed as an intervention used in loneliness reduction among its users since it enhances their

levels of social contact and social support though some of its usages have been found to associate

with indications of lower self-confidence and depression positively.

Different approaches can be perceived to be employed through the use of Twitter,

eliminating loneliness which is the subjective experience of an individual’s negative feelings

regarding social interaction qualities and unsatisfying levels based on perceptions of

companionship and social support (Teo et al. 2). Most individuals always strive to look for

positive and stable interpersonal connections, capable of resulting in a feeling of belonging (Teo

et al. 7). Therefore, failure to fulfill such social needs means that there might be a failure in

fulfilling the activation of an individual’s brain reward system, aspects that may contribute to

enhancing their sense of loneliness (Teo et al. 8). Twitter offers quite a new dimension regarding
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modes of communication, enabling individuals to maintain their social relationships by keeping

in touch with each other. Besides, several types of research done have proved that the use of

Twitter assists its users in staying connected with their families and friends who offer emotional

support that reduces loneliness (Szabo et al. 61). Therefore, using Twitter for social purposes

leads to enhanced social connection satisfaction feelings that reduce loneliness.

Twitter as a communication tool reduces several risks of loneliness by promoting

supportive relations with the members of their social network. Social support among Twitter

users has been conceptualized based on two scopes; perceived and received social support

(Yavich et al. 12). Perceived social support among Twitter users has a more substantial outcome

on loneliness compared to received social support. This aspect means that the current study on

the role of many social media sites, including Twitter, on loneliness is primarily on the perceived

social support dimension.

There is a positive association between twitter use and perceived social support, linking

people with nearby social ties. This kind of association can be clearly understood when social

capital theory is applied (Yavich et al. 12). Besides, the connotation can also be understood when

there is a firm framework related to the formation and care of social relationships. Thus, bridging

and bonding are the two social capital aspects that are present in such a case (Teo et al. 7). For

Twitter users, bonding social capital can be termed as a social relationship containing strong ties,

like close friends and family members that in most cases offer emotional support (Szabo et al.

60). Alternatively, bridging social capital among Twitter users can be related to those kinds of

connections with weak ties, particularly among individuals with varied backgrounds.

Accordingly, Twitter assists individuals to follow up their family and friends status by sharing

their life events, an aspect that, as a result, promotes bonding social capital and also enhances the
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closeness and connectedness feeling (Teo et al. 7). Twitter not only permits information

interaction and socialization between friends and relatives but also with associates, which of

course, enhances bridging social capital among users (Szabo et al. 65). Therefore, all social

capital forms offer access to important support for individuals, leading to reduced feelings of

loneliness.

The use of Twitter may be linked to loneliness by enhancing contact with various social

members, an aspect that also reduces solitude in several ways. Social media use acts as an

approach for initiating social interaction since they play a key role in upholding social

connectedness (Teo et al. 2). Through twitter applications, an individual can experience a feeling

of seeing and being seen whereby they can actively share their lifetime moments among

themselves, which in turn stimulates a sense of belonging and connectedness (Teo et al. 2).

Based on social capital theory, having healthy social relations results in social capital, an aspect

that offers not only instrumental benefits but also provides emotional support among Twitter

users, reducing any forms of risk that might be related to loneliness (Szabo et al. 65). Therefore,

communicating through Twitter promotes existing social relations and also may be employed to

boost offline interactions.

However, self-reported Twitter users have revealed that its usage positively correlates

with depression, and lower self-esteem symptoms, with some experiencing fear of missing out

(FOMO) as a mental health issue. Therefore, despite many positive aspects related to the use of

Twitter, its use can also be said to be related to the reductions in individuals’ well-being. FOMO,

for instance, is an experience where an individual may feel that at a particular point, he or she

could have been physically present at a particular event but failed to. Some people may also feel

that they are not being included in important occasions by those they feel might be having
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significant social relations with. Therefore, the use of Twitter may be a better approach to

addressing issues of loneliness but may as well hard its users’ mental health.

Conclusively, Twitter serves as an intervention for reducing loneliness among its users

because it promotes their degrees of social contact and social support. A positive association

exists between twitter usage and perceived social support since it connects its users with various

social ties. Moreover, contact with people’s social members is also an added advantage

associated with the use of Twitter in reducing solitude among its users. Therefore, results have

revealed that Twitter usage can be linked with loneliness based on the fact that it increases social

support and individual’s contact with their diverse social connections. However, issues like

depression, low self-esteem, and the fear of missing out are some of the negative features

particularly related to the frequent use of Twitter as a social site. Nevertheless, there is a need for

future research to employ full longitudinal methodologies so that they can yield an

understandable perspective of the casual connections linking loneliness and Twitter usage.
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Works Cited

Szabo, Agnes et al. "Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationship between Purposes of Internet

Use and Well-Being among Older Adults." The Gerontologist, vol 59, no. 1, 2018,

pp. 58- 68. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/geront/gny036.

Teo, Alan R. et al. "Using Skype To Beat The Blues: Longitudinal Data From A National

Representative Sample." The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 27, no. 3,

2019, pp. 254- 262. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.jagp.2018.10.014.

Yavich, Roman et al. "Social Media and Loneliness - Forever Connected?” Higher Education

Studies, vol 9, no. 2, 2019, p. 10. Canadian Center Of Science And Education,

doi:10.5539/hes.v9n2p10.