0
0
The more time you spend on social media, the greater the likelihood of experiencing unpleasant social media-related dreams that cause distress, sleep disruption, and impact your peace of mind, according to a recent study by Flinders University.
Reza Shabahang from the College of Education, Psychology, and Social Work at Flinders University emphasizes that the widespread and rapid adoption of social media has the potential to influence various aspects of life, including our dreams.
“As social media becomes increasingly intertwined with our lives, its impact extends beyond waking hours and may influence our dreams,” Shabahang explains.
In a significant development, Shabahang has introduced a new tool, the Social Media Nightmare-Related Scale (SMNS), which quantifies how social media could contribute to nightmares. The SMNS was created by integrating literature on dreaming, nightmares, and the relationship between media and dreams, with a particular focus on themes related to social media use, such as helplessness, loss of control, and victimization.
The findings are detailed in the paper, “Social media-related nightmare—a potential explanation for poor sleep quality and low affective well-being in the social media era?”, published in BMC Psychology.
“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 Shabahang.
While social media-related nightmares are relatively rare, those who use social media more frequently are more likely to experience these nightmares, which are associated with negative mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and poor sleep quality.
“This study provides insights into the complex relationships between social media use, mental health, and sleep quality,” Shabahang notes.
As the technological landscape evolves, Shabahang stresses the need for further research into how social media influences our 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, it is anticipated that dreams featuring technological and media content will become more frequent,” he says.
Shabahang calls for responsible and mindful use of social media to mitigate the occurrence of social media-related nightmares. Future research may explore nightmares related to the perceived dangers of AI and other emerging technologies.
For more information, see the study by Reza Shabahang et al, “Social media-related nightmare—a potential explanation for poor sleep quality and low affective well-being in the social media era?” in BMC Psychology (2024).
