Over 60% of Italians think that using social networks in lockdown (in Italy) promotes well-being.
The new PXR Italy research compared males and females from the north, center, and south and studied their perception of well-being in relation to the use of social networks. The question "Are social networks promoting your personal well-being during this quarantine?" was answered by a clear majority in the affirmative, consolidating the idea that even in the "Bel paese" the use of social networks is now an integral part of everyday life.
Social Networks and welfare: some data
Wellness and social networks seem to be two worlds in the collision; or perhaps it would be better to speak of universes, given the enormous resonance they have in the lives of each of us. Numbers in hand: in 2018 the wellness market generated 5,3% of the world's GDP, or around 4.500 billion US dollars; numbers that have seen exponential growth in 2019, including in Italy where the total value of the wellness market is close to 21 billion dollars (Global Welness Institute data).
The value of the social network market is more complex to assess. That said, user numbers can give an idea of the impact of social on the global economy and our personal relationships. There were 3,48 billion social media users in total in 2019, about half of the Earth's population (We Are Social data in collaboration with Hootsuite via TheNextWeb).
In summary, the scale of the wellness market highlights the tendency of many individuals to attach importance to all those aspects of life that only 50 years ago would have been considered a 'plus' for only a few wealthy individuals. Today, wellbeing, or being well, is a word that encompasses the market for tourism, spas, thermal baths, psychological and empowerment treatments, etc. But wellbeing is also, in the most basic sense of the word, a way of life. But well-being is also, in the most basic sense, having positive and secure relationships, a satisfactory economic status, psychological stability.
Social media is the best tool to help and promote both the market and wellbeing-oriented lifestyles: first of all by shortening distances and eliminating waiting times.
Conclusions
The PXR Italy research found a significant gender difference in the perception of how social affects wellbeing; over 64% of women in each age group, from 18 to 64, felt that social increased their wellbeing. Men showed the same perception, but to a lesser extent in each of the age groups surveyed. Is it possible that social networks are more important for women than for men when it comes to well-being?
In short, the data shown by PXR Italy is interesting and makes us think: social networks are increasing the well-being of Italians. And like any form of well-being, it can be taken to extremes, leading from feeling good to the exact opposite: remember that for several years now, in the psychological field, we have been talking about social addiction, and various specific treatments have been devised with the aim of combating it.
So let us ask ourselves: what is the difference between well-being and pleasure, where does one begin and the other end? Is it possible that social media give us pleasure, and not well-being? Is it possible that through social networks we are deluding ourselves into believing that relationships are made up of single shots with the phone, likes, comments and shares? And so finally, can we do without social networks?
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