Facebook, Twitter may help 'stressed out' women cope: New Study

A new study has revealed that women who use a lot of Facebook and Twitter are less stressed out.

Lee Rainie, the research group's director, said that when they headed into the study, they thought it would prove that high social media use leads to higher stress levels overall, but instead, proved the opposite, the Washington Post reported.

Lead author Keith N Hampton of Rutgers University said that social media provides "supportive exchange", that is, people feel less stressed because they can stay in contact with friends and family, and feel that  sense of community support. According to Hampton, women tend to be the people tasked with maintaining household family relationships and so when it comes to social media, the technology may actually be helping them fulfill those tasks more efficiently and save them time.

Hampton said that women are more likely to be active sharers than men and posting a quick photo on Instagram or update on Facebook is a low-cost, easy way to do that. Adding that while not everyone wants to see them all the time, posting may be important for women in reducing stress.

Stress levels were 21% lower in women who had higher than "average" social media use in this study. That was defined as a person who checks Twitter and Facebook a few times a day, shares a few pictures and gets around 25 e-mails per day. It's likely that venting about the bad things in her life on social media makes a woman feel better, while simultaneously raising the stress levels of the women near and dear to her, what Hampton and Rainie term the "cost of caring".

The study is published by the Pew Research Centres' Internet & American Life Project.