Social Media Use and Happiness in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Social media (SM) use by adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not well understood. Co-occurring mental health concerns, such as depression, are common for adults with ASD. The current investigation explored the relationship between SM use and happiness in a population of adults with self-disclosed ASD. Of the 84 percent of the sample who used SM, those who used Facebook, the most popular site, were happier than those who did not. The same relationship did not exist for the second most popular site, Twitter. Happiness and SM use showed a quadratic relationship: Happiness and SM use increased together until they reached a point where happiness fell off. SM use by adults with ASD, specifically Facebook use in moderation, may enhance well-being and may be a protective factor against secondary mental health concerns common in this population.

Introduction

Ask people what they most want out of life and they will say they want to be happy.^1,2 Greater social support, including that achieved through social media (SM), predicts increased happiness and decreased depression.^3–6 Social support can include affirmations that increase self-efficacy and thus increase adaptive functionality.^4,5 People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often struggle with social deficits and are at risk for depression. Most individuals with ASD experience difficulties with adaptive functioning. Thus, identifying factors that may influence both social deficits and happiness is an important area of inquiry. This study addresses the question of whether SM use relates to well-being in adults with ASD, a population that is on the rise.⁷

ASD is conceptualized by: (a) problems with reciprocal social interaction and (b) restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities.⁸ Mental health concerns often manifest during adolescence when social interactions are key to healthy development. About 60 percent of adults with ASD have co-occurring psychiatric conditions.⁹ Although decreased interest in social interactions is diagnostic of ASD, a growing body of research indicates that many people with ASD desire friendships and experience loneliness.^10–13

Face-to-face social interactions pose particular difficulties for people with ASD because of difficulty in understanding nonverbal communication, decoding thoughts and feelings, and responding quickly.¹⁴ SM may offer a platform for social connections that alleviate these needs in those with ASD, by offering more time to think about responses and use of verbal text and emoticons.^15,16

General SM review

SM use is widespread: nearly 89 percent of those 18–29 percent and 72 percent of all adults use SM. Some research reveals benefits of SM use, including increased social support, reduced loneliness, and improved quality of life.^17–19 Some research documents negative outcomes such as decreased well-being and increased envy and depression.²⁰ The apparent contradictions in the literature may be addressed by fine tuning measurement.^17,20 A recent review of research on SM and social support¹⁷ concluded that most studies found that type and frequency of SM use predicted increased perceived and received social support and this led to increased well-being.

Facebook is the most commonly used and studied SM platform, followed by Twitter.^17,21 These platforms may attract users with different social styles. Facebook users seek to maintain their known social network, post more highly interpersonal and emotional messages, and engage in reciprocal interactions.^22–24 Twitter users tend to value anonymity and cognitive stimulation and are more transient^25–30

ASD and SM use

To date, only one study directly addressed SM use in adults with ASD. In 108 adults with ASD, about 80 percent reported using social networking, primarily motivated by a desire for social connection.³¹ These users reported closer relationships with friends than nonusers. A study of adolescents with ASD found that greater SM use predicted more friendships.³²

Happiness

Happiness is the affective component of well-being. Happier individuals tend to have higher incomes, more stable relationships, and better health.^6,26,27 Practicing the activities of happy people (e.g., spending time socializing) can improve happiness. Individuals who use SM experience greater social support with improved well-being¹⁹ that may relate to happiness.

Happiness in people with ASD is poorly understood. Research indicates that those with ASD often have problems understanding and expressing emotions (e.g., “alexithymia”).³³ Adolescents with ASD experience less positive effect than controls.³⁴ Researchers have recommended interventions to promote positive emotions in this group.^34,35

Current study

The purpose of this study is to better understand SM use in adults with ASD, with a particular focus on the relationship between SM use and happiness and the role of platform in this relationship.

Methods

Participants

Participants were adults with self-reported ASD. Participants were recruited first through online advertisements and a suburban school district (n = 26) and next through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK) (n = 80). MTURK participants, limited to U.S. residents who met inclusion criteria, were offered $2.25 and were included in a lottery for an Apple Watch. Demographics for the two recruitment groups were statistically equivalent except for age (MTURK; M = 28.84, SD = 6.93); non-MTURK group (M = 26.15, SD = 10.28) t(104) = 2.07, p = 0.006. The final sample was 106 participants (64 male) with a median age of 28. Self-reported diagnoses were Asperger's Disorder (56.6 percent), ASD (25.4 percent), and Autism (17.0 percent). Note that although many participants were diagnosed according to previous DSM-IV criteria, all prior subcategory diagnoses are now considered to be part of a single ASD diagnosis according to most current DSM-5 criteria.⁸ As such, these categories likely reflect the timing and/or location of diagnosis rather than true differences between groups. Participants reported being diagnosed by a psychologist (51.9 percent), physician (37.7 percent), or school professional (10.4 percent).

Measures

Online survey

The online survey included demographics, the Social Media Questionnaire (SMQ), and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS).

SM Questionnaire

The SMQ was modeled after the video game questionnaire.³⁶ Participants selected their three most-used SM sites from a list, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Wrongplanet.net, Aspiesforfreedom.net, and Spectrum Dating (the latter three are ASD-specific sites), none, or by listing another site. Participants estimated the hours per day they used each site in the last month.

Subjective happiness scale

The SHS³⁷ is a four-item 7-point scale that measures global subjective happiness (α = 0.94). Higher mean scores indicate greater happiness. An example item is: “Compared with most of my peers, I consider myself: less happy to more happy.”

Results

The majority of participants (84 percent) reported using SM; Facebook, Twitter, and “none” were, in order, the top three used SM (Table 1). Participants used their favorite SM site on average 2.3 hours a day, with 4.5 average hours of combined use. There were no significant differences among self-reported diagnosis and choice of most used SM sites, χ²(14) = 10.64, p = 0.78.

Table 1.

Social Media Use Among Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

	Most used		One of top 3 most used sites
SM site	n	Percent ^a	n	Percent
Facebook	54	50.9	82	28
Twitter	20	18.9	63	22
None	16	15.1	60	21
Other	9	8.5	35	12
Instagram	4	3.8	48	17

Sites indicated by one participant were not included.

SM, social media.

SHS in adults with ASD

The average SHS score for this sample (M = 4.21, SD = 1.31) was slightly below those for the general population reported elsewhere.³⁷ A one-way ANOVA compared the relationship between all forms of self-disclosed ASD status and SHS. Significant differences were found in SHS between the diagnostic categories [F(2, 103) = 4.76, p = 0.01, ω² = 0.066] (medium effect size). Post hoc comparisons using the Bonferroni correction indicated higher SHS scores for the Autism group (M = 4.53, SD = 1.42) than the Asperger's Disorder group (M = 3.88, SD = 1.27) (difference between means = −0.897, p = 0.029) and no other differences.

Regression analyses of SM use on SHS

A hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to determine which independent variables (step one: age; step two: age and diagnosis; step three: age, diagnosis, and SM type) were predictors of happiness (Table 2). Age and diagnosis were entered into the model separately to account for the differences reported above. Data screening included using the Winsor method +1 to any outliers exceeding the three interquartile rule. Evaluation of linearity led to the square root transformation of Twitter hours (THrs) and total social media hours (TSMHrs). While preanalysis procedures improved THrs and TSMHrs positive skew and kurtosis, neither data set was normally distributed when tested independently. No data set violated the expected Mahalanobis distance or collinearity statistics.

Table 2.

Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis Predicting Subjective Happiness from Age, Diagnosis, and Hours of Social Media Use by Platform or Combined

	Happiness FB hours				Happiness Twitter hours				Happiness SM hours
Predictor	β	SE β	R²	ΔR²	β	SE β	R²	ΔR²	β	SE β	R²	ΔR²
Step 1			0.026	0.026			0.026	0.026			0.026	0.026
Age	−0.026	−0.160			−0.026	−0.160			−0.026	−0.160
Step 2			0.072^*	0.047^*			0.072^*	0.047^*			0.072^*	0.047^*
Age	−0.020	−0.121			−0.020	−0.121			−0.020	−0.121
Dx	−0.334^*	−0.220^*			−0.334^*	−0.220^*			−0.334^*	−0.220^*
Step 3			0.113	0.040^*			0.072	0.00			0.085	0.012
Age	−0.018	−0.121			−0.020	−0.0121			−0.017	−0.106
Dx	−0.317^*	−0.209^*			−0.334^*	−0.220^*			−0.328^*	−0.216^*
Hours	0.168^*	0.201^*			0.00	0.00			0.143	0.112

n = 106.

p < 0.05.

Dx, diagnosis; hours, hours of social media use; FB hours, Facebook hours; SM hours, social media hours.

When age and diagnosis were covariates, the only regression model that was significant was for Facebook (FB) Hours. Hours spent on Facebook and happiness were related by a quadratic curve. In other words, as Facebook hours increased, happiness increased up to the point where Facebook use was the highest, at which point happiness levels fell off. The regression model, at step 3, indicates that FB Hours was a predictor for happiness, R² = 0.113, Δ R² = 0.040, F(3, 102,) = 4.32, p = 0.007.

Analyses of SM use, type, and SHS

To address the sample's non-normal, possible quadratic relationship, dichotomous variables were created for FB user/nonuser, Twitter user/nonuser, SM user/nonuser, and FB user/Twitter user (Table 3). Individuals who used SM reported being happier than those who did not and Facebook users reported greater happiness than nonusers. No differences were found between Twitter users and nonusers. However, users of Facebook users reported greater happiness than Twitter users. Again, Facebook use and happiness rose together until they reached the top end of the curve, at which point both fell off. It appears that Facebook use predicts happiness until Facebook use is too great, at which point happiness falls off.

Table 3.

Independent Sample t Tests for Dichotomous Variables of Social Media Use on Subjective Happiness

		Condition
		User			Nonuser
SM type	Df	n	M	SD	n	M	SD	t	p^a	r
FB	103	81	4.35	1.23	24	3.78	1.48	−1.88	0.032	0.18
Twitter	104	58	4.26	1.31	48	4.14	1.33	−0.453	0.326	0.04
SM	104	16	4.32	1.24	90	3.58	1.56	−2.11	0.049	0.21

		FB user			Twitter user
	Df	n	M	SD	n	M	SD	t	p	r
FB vs. Twitter	72	54	4.51	1.24	20	3.88	1.07	2.00	0.025	0.23

One tailed.

Discussion

Past research reports that SM users, particularly Facebook users, enjoy increased social connections, improved trust, and increased well-being.³⁸ The present study is the first to document similar results for adults with ASD. Adults with ASD who used SM reported greater subjective happiness than adults with ASD who did not use SM. In this study, those who used Facebook the most were happier than those who used Twitter the most. This study also mirrored other studies^20,39,40 that suggested that too much SM use relates to detrimental outcomes.

Facebook and Twitter vary in the kind of social interactions users experience. Those differences may play a role in why Facebook users were happier than Twitter users. For instance, Facebook is reciprocal with required acceptance of friend requests,²³ which may help reinforce social connections. Alternatively, on Twitter, the practice of following is more unidirectional where Tweeters follow others at will, but no interaction is needed.

The perception of an audience has been reported as being gratifying to Facebook users even when posts receive no responses.⁴¹ For Twitter, prior studies have found that tweets require a response to generate similar gratifications for users.^25,42

The main method for determining influence on Twitter is the retweet. To amass retweets, individuals must have strong communication skills, perception of what stories are important to others, and knowledge of online social norms,^27,28 all of which are difficult for people with ASD. Furthermore, retweets generally contain negative news that can be emotionally arousing. This is a key consideration because prior qualitative research has found that many adults with ASD particularly dislike online media that fosters negative social interactions, online arguments, or insulting messages.⁴³

Individuals with ASD who participated in an Internet forum enjoyed the site but reported difficulty in knowing who to trust.⁴⁴ Trust is improved when the user has knowledge of others' activities and interests, which Facebook provides through profile pages and status updates.³⁸ Thus Facebook may enhance the SM experience for adults with ASD.

Finally, Twitter users are transient and unfollow people at high levels. This may make Twitter a problematic site for people with ASD because they struggle to understand social relationships and may perceive being unfollowed as a personal affront.²⁹

Conclusion

The current investigation expands the small literature on SM use in adults with ASD. In the present study, the SM-happiness relationship depended on the type of SM site preferred. Those who preferred Facebook showed greater happiness than those who did not, whereas the same did not hold true for Twitter users. Facebook use holds potential to improve SHS in adults with ASD. This finding suggests a novel and practical source of well-being enhancement readily available to those with ASD. Future research is needed to examine the effects of Facebook use on symptoms of depression and anxiety common in this population. Furthermore, analysis of uses and gratifications that explicitly ask why those with ASD use SM will greatly enhance the knowledge base of this group.

Limitations

As this study was not an experimental design, it does not provide information on causality. We depended on self-disclosure of diagnosis. The majority of participants were recruited from MTURK, which may not be representative of adults with ASD. The study examined hours of SM use, but did not examine how individuals used each site (e.g., passively or actively).

Ethics statement

Participants in this study were treated in accordance with APA ethical guidelines.

Footnotes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Henry Soper for his contributions to the dissertation from which this article originates.

Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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