I hate social media. This may make me sound like an "old man yelling at clouds" and to an extent, I am. However, what are the dangers or benefits of social media and autism?
A 2023 study found that "the average person" spends over six hours a day online with around "two and half hours on social media" per day (How Social Media Affects Mental Health – Forbes Health). This will, obviously, vary due to a myriad of factors such as age, profession and social class. But for the "average" person this is a lot of time to be online. If a person is spending that much time online then what are they doing? Some will need the internet for work purposes.
Since the pandemic one in four jobs now use a hybrid work model (Remote working statistics UK 2024 | Updated regularly (standout-cv.com)). This means working in an office for some part of the week and the rest from home. If this is how you work then you need the internet for meetings or for sending and receiving work files and instructions. In some ways, this change will benefit Autistic people as it limits the amount of social interactions they need to go through per day. A study by Howard and Sedgewick in 2021 showed that "written communication" was the preferred mode of communication in work (Howard, P. L., & Sedgewick, F. (2021). ‘Anything but the phone!’: Communication mode preferences in the autism community. Autism, 25(8), 2265-2278. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211014995).
The reasons for this preference can be broken down into three main categories. Firstly, written communication such as text messages and emails allow an adequate amount of thinking time. In face to face conversation one is expected to reply immediately and this narrows thinking time to a matter of seconds. Whereas, an email reply can be altered, edited and checked for tonal issues. This can allow a person's thoughts to be written in a way that cannot be misunderstood by others.
Secondly, written communication is a form of structured communication. Emails can be sent using templates which reduces the anxiety about sending the information and provides a clear written record of what was said. There is also a level of formality with work and personal emails (depending on who you are writing to) that provides rules and go to phrases that can be taken and reused.
Finally, written communication removes any sensory issues as you can send emails in a quiet environment, if you need that, and when you are calm. Face to face communication can often be noisy and include people talking over each other, going off on tangents or misunderstanding tone.
If an autistic person has to have an emotionally difficult conversation with someone, say a partner or a parent, then it is common for them to do so over text. I certainly do. This is because of the reasons above. I can order my thoughts, I can have time to respond and I do not have to worry about facial expressions not matching the words I am using.
This I believe shows the great attraction of social media over other forms of communication available to people nowadays. Driel et al (2023) argue that people find "belonging in autistic groups" which creates more happiness and comfort for them than interactions with neurotypical people (*Understanding Autistic Adults' Use of Social Media). An element of this is definitely a feeling of 'I have found my tribe' and therefore the person does not need to mask or worry about offending prescribed social norms. Within these networks autistic people can talk about the issues that affect their lives and receive an element of understanding and community they may not get from neurotypical environments.
A brief look on the usage of the "autism" and "autistic" hashtag on Tik Tok shows it has been used over 2.5 million times. That is, potentially, a lot of validation from the community.
This sense of community and being your "authentic" self, for which read - unmasked - does play a positive role in usage of social media (Stigma Management Strategies of Autistic Social Media Users | Autism in Adulthood (liebertpub.com)). However, in my experience social media is incredibly divisive and tribal. You may not be believed by users for being autistic as you do not match up to a preconceived autistic stereotype. You may be seen as faking your diagnosis for online clout.
Secondly, I think the drive for validation can become obsessive. You watch the views climb and the likes come in. This provides a serotonin boost and any further posts that fail to match this can be disheartening. Many reports talk about the addictive nature of social media. A documentary on Sky television, Doom Scroll (Doom Scroll on Sky review: this Andrew Tate documentary offers a chilling vision of the future | Evening Standard) discusses how social media feeds are targeted at people to ensure engagement which increases ad revenues. This can lead to a stream of negative content being directed at people who may have issues with emotional regulation. In "Under the Radar" Miller Ball describes how he cannot watch the news because he gets too emotional. It can be the same with news feeds and For You Pages.
Another factor is that the internet has allowed people to vent their most horrid sides. The rates of anger, hatred and arguments online is frightening. I searched the hash tag Twitterclarets, as it relates to my football team, and it is just a collection of angry people. This misinformation and anger was a root cause of the recent riots in the UK (Fact checked: The far-right claims that sparked riots in Southport and across UK | The Independent). All of this doom scrolling will negatively impact a person's mental health. You look at one post about people rioting and the algorithm shows you more and more. It is easy for one to get trapped in this negative cycle. It is the same with any issue that can be considered controversial. Issues such as the American election, trans rights and religion. It can give the impression that the world is on fire and everything is awful.
It isn't but it can feel that way.
I managed to get myself off all forms of social media but set it up for this blog as, The Wife and I, wanted to share what we say and the resources we provide as much as we can. However, I do think social media is detrimental to me. I rarely know what to post and talk about. I am a very boring person so I cannot update Tik Tok about that. Some people on social media always find the good in their diagnosis and their lives. They see the beauty in the struggle. I am, temperamentally, not one of those people.
If you can find a sense of community from social media and if that can break through the loneliness of being autistic that is felt by so many then good. It allows a person to communicate without the dangers of other people. However, it can quickly become a toxic and argumentative where the search for external validation beats all. Where you can feel disheartened if your post doesn't gain any traction and like you are shouting into the void.
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