Cristel Russell and Doreen Shanahan Research on Social Media’s Impact on Health and Wellness Featured in Sage Perspectives

A life change — such as a health scare, new life circumstances, or doctor’s advice — can be an overwhelming prospect for many people. With so much conflicting information on the internet, people often turn to social media in an attempt to cut through the clutter. And while social platforms like Facebook Groups have brought many people together with common interests, research published by Pepperdine Graziadio faculty members Cristel Russell and Doreen Shanahan, along with the University of Denver Daniels College of Business professor Ana Babíc Rosario, shows that within such online gatherings, connections are not always as constructive as Facebook hoped.

The research, originally published in the Journal of Interactive Marketing and summarized in the blog Sage Perspectives, shows that even in online communities built on the premise of communal accountability and accomplishment, social pressure forces users into detrimental situations by turning social empathy into angst. While some pressure can be useful to the completion of goals, sometimes exchanges within those ’support' groups can cause insecurity, jeopardize mental health, and break the sense of belonging to a community.

To read the full summary in Sage Perspectives, click here.