RESEARCH_FILE
Ethan Kross
University of Michigan
Known for:Experience-sampling and experimental work on how social media use — especially passive use — relates to moment-to-moment well-being.
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Their life is what mine should look like”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“That photo is one frame. I have the whole footage, and nobody else gets to see mine the way I do.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Next time a social media post lands as a comparison, write down the single specific detail you're measuring yourself against—the trip, the body, the ease—without judgment. Look at what your life actually contains that day instead.
Key findings
- 2013
Texting young adults five times a day for two weeks, Facebook use predicted declines in both momentary affect and life satisfaction, while direct social contact predicted feeling better. Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults ↗
- 2015
Experimentally cueing passive Facebook use lowered affective well-being over the day, with envy carrying the effect — replicated in the field with experience sampling. Passive Facebook Usage Undermines Affective Well-Being: Experimental and Longitudinal Evidence ↗
- 2017
In a critical review with Verduyn and colleagues: passive use of social network sites is consistently linked to lower subjective well-being, largely via upward social comparison and envy, while active use shows different patterns. Do Social Network Sites Enhance or Undermine Subjective Well-Being? A Critical Review ↗