Anger and Social Media: What’s the Connection?

It is no secret that the greater the time spent on social media, the greater the influence on one’s emotions. If you spend any amount of time on social media, you may very well find yourself feeling down, hopeless, or downright angry.^[1] The question is, why is this so?

As with any human behavior, we can pinpoint a variety of potential causes. In this case, though, there is a vicious cycle of social media being a hotbed of division and rage and people purposefully seeking out things on social media that perpetuate that division and rage. Young people, particularly teens and young adults, are especially susceptible to the rollercoaster of emotions associated with extended social media exposure.^[2] However, as outlined below, there are steps you can take to mitigate the effects of social media and anger in your life.

Does social media make people angry?

In short, yes, social media anger is a real thing.

A primary reason for this is that social media offers users anonymity. While you might be a reserved, respectful person who calmly explains your anger when in an in-person argument, you might feel less encumbered by social norms behind the veil of your computer screen. This, in turn, can mean a couple of different things.

First, you might express your anger in a wholly different way online. The anonymity of social media might allow you to feel like you can be more direct, more hateful, or even more hostile toward others.^[3] Second, the frequency of your anger might also increase. After all, social media is readily available on your phone, so you can express your social media anger quickly, easily, and more frequently.

There is another layer to this that involves the social media companies themselves. The algorithms used to determine what you see in your social media feeds can very easily create an echo chamber that amplifies your existing anger. The validation you get for your feelings by being fed like-minded posts can serve to increase your level of hostility, which can often lead to even more angry responses online. What’s more, there is often positive social feedback for expressing your rage online, thereby making future outbursts more likely.^[4]

At the same time, the social media anger echo chamber may reinforce your existing beliefs. So, not only might you feel more angry about a particular subject, but given what you see in your carefully curated social media feed, you might also become more and more entrenched in your way of thinking.

This, in turn, helps feed the online anger machine. For example, researchers note that social media users are much more likely to comment on social media posts that do not align with their beliefs. The likelihood of engaging with a post that doesn’t conform to one’s beliefs is even higher when a core belief is challenged.^[5]

So, if you feel like “social media makes me angry,” you aren’t alone. We’re all in the same boat in today’s highly interconnected world. We have quicker access to more information than ever before, so we can become more rage-filled faster. Sure, there are some wholesome and heartwarming things on social media, but by and large, viral content is purpose-built to trigger us into feeling very strong emotions, particularly anger.

Psychological effects of online anger

One of the most important psychological effects of social media anger is the addiction component. Previous studies show that there is an association between anger and the development of online addictions, such as an addiction to social media or the internet.^[6]

This line of thinking goes as such: Someone uses social media as an escape from problems in their real life. Given the toxicity of many online environments, the time spent online can have seriously negative effects, ranging from increased feelings of anger, depression, hopelessness, or anxiety, to the development of an internet addiction. In other words, seeking respite from real-world problems by spending time online is not a recipe for good mental health.

Social Media and Stress

Two primary psychological effects of social media anger are stress and anxiety. On the one hand, the toxic online environment is a perfect incubator for stress. If you’re like most people, the first thing you do in the morning is grab your phone to be bombarded by all the notifications you missed overnight. Then, throughout the day, you’re notified of who’s doing what by a constant string of dings and vibrations.

So, on the one hand, there’s an inherent level of stress you might experience simply because of being overloaded and overstimulated with social media notifications. Then, once you log into your accounts, you see the perfectly curated lives of other people who may present themselves as more beautiful, successful, or happier than you. This applies more stress as you strive to live up to the impossible standards of the people you follow.^[7]

Social Media and Anxiety

It’s not just stress, either. People who use more social media platforms are more likely to have anxiety. In fact, people who are active on seven or more social media platforms are three times more likely to have anxiety than people who are active on two or fewer social media platforms.^[7]

Part of this stress-anxiety-social media issue is the fear of missing out or FOMO. When you’re on social media, it’s easy to see who’s doing what with whom. If you’re not involved in those activities, feelings of loneliness and anxiety can occur. Compulsive checking of one’s social media feeds can ensue–to see what else you’re missing out on–and the situation can quickly turn into a highly stressful event.^[8]

Social Media and Depression

The potential psychological effects of social media outrage extend further still. For example, social media use is significantly associated with an increased risk of depression. More specifically, studies have shown that frequent social media use might be involved in a decline in engagement with one’s real-life community, a lowered sense of life satisfaction, and a decline in subjective well-being, too. This is particularly true of young adults and teens.[2,9]

Social Media and Lowered Self-Esteem

There is a danger of lowered self-esteem and feelings of self-worth with significant time spent online. A good example of this is the “like” culture of platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Posting photos or videos online puts you out there for the approval of others, typically through likes, shares, and comments. But, if a post doesn’t get the number of likes, shares, or comments we deem adequate, our feelings of self-worth can diminish.^[1]

How to manage your anger on social media

The good news is that there are many strategies you can use to manage your social media anger. For many of us, simply unplugging and getting away from technology, even for an hour, can help mitigate increasing feelings of anger, stress, and anxiety. A more permanent solution, though, is to set limits for yourself regarding how much time you spend looking at your social media feeds.

Another simple strategy you can use is to determine specific times of the day for social media usage. For example, avoid using social media near bedtime, as the psychological effects of the online environment can prevent you from getting into the proper headspace for sleep. Instead, perhaps you give yourself 20 minutes after eating dinner to check your social media feeds.

Another proactive strategy you might consider is to clean up your lists of friends and followers and remove accounts that increase your anger levels. Consider, for example, that a cousin or another relative constantly posts hate-filled speech or memes on Facebook. Severing that online relationship, though perhaps painful at first, can help improve your long-term experience when online.

Alternatively, as you navigate the social media world, be mindful of how you feel, so you can take action to reduce negative emotions. For example, if you find the content on a particular social media platform to be troublesome, consider leaving that site altogether. You may not have control over what other people post online, but you do have control over where you choose to spend your time when you grab your phone.

These strategies for diminishing the power of social media over your emotions are especially important to use in the political sphere. Politics are as fraught as ever, with people deeply entrenched in their point of view. With such a close link between politics, anger, and fear, and with political echo chambers at a fever pitch, being proactive and removing yourself from the vitriol can do wonders for mitigating the negative feelings you might experience when online.^[10]

Other general health methods you might consider for managing your social media anger include the following:

• Staying active by playing games or sports.
• Prioritizing in-person connections with people who love and support you.
• Avoiding “doomscrolling” on your phone in favor of an activity that enhances your well-being, such as mindfulness or meditation.
• Eating healthy, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and prioritizing getting plenty of rest (poor sleep is closely linked to emotional issues and a higher risk of suicide in teens, so staying off the phone and focusing on rest is critical).^[2]
• Getting exercise on a regular basis.
• Focusing on what you can control and using that as a mechanism for minimizing the negative effects of social media.

Beyond that, when interacting with others online, try to remember that behind the avatar is another person, perhaps someone who is struggling with an addiction, depression, the death of a loved one, or another significant event. We don’t know each other’s complete stories (especially online). Prioritizing respect and understanding–even when you may not receive it in return–can help make your online experience less stressful and anger-inducing.

Ultimately, social media is here to stay. Our task is to learn how to live with it. Being mindful of how we feel and being proactive in making changes when needed–like putting the phone down in favor of something more emotionally satisfying–can make all the difference in reducing social media anger.