Love, Likes, and Life after Marriage: Social Media's Role in Women's Psychological Freedom and Health
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63300/Keywords:
Social media, women’s mental health, marriage, psychological autonomy, digital empowermentAbstract
This in-depth study tested the multifaceted relationship between the use of social media and women's psychological liberation and well-being following marriage through systematic research synthesis of existing research across various nations and cultural settings. The inquiry integrated results from longitudinal studies, cross-cultural studies, and theoretical models in an attempt to comprehend how new digital technologies transformed women's psychological scenery in marriage relationships. The study examined data from more than 17,000 married women from a variety of geographical locations, including a four-year Chinese longitudinal panel study (2016-2020) with nationally representative data from the Chinese Family Panel Studies, cross-sectional study from Nepal with 9,875 married women, and meta-analyses exploring digital empowerment effects among several populations.
The study found a double-edged effect of social media among married women's mental health and autonomy. Direct positive impacts were repeatedly exhibited, with internet users having much lower levels of depression than non-users (p < 0.001), better social support networks, greater access to health information, and increased decision-making independence in sexual and reproductive health issues. Women with continuous media exposure had 28.4% levels of autonomy compared to 17.5% in the non-media-exposure group. Nevertheless, the study found intricate indirect mechanisms through changed marital relations, in which women's use of social media reduced their satisfaction with the household chores contributions of their spouses, producing a "passive mediating effect" on satisfaction in the overall relationship.
The authors identified four aspects of digital empowerment impacting married women: cognitive empowerment through information access, psychological empowerment through increased self-efficacy, social empowerment through membership in the community, and economic empowerment through entrepreneurial access. The variations in culture were considerable, and particularly salient benefits were seen in women within conventional societies where online platforms offered significant avenues of resistance to gender norms and access to support networks. The study concluded that although social media greatly improved the psychological autonomy and mental health of women directly, outcomes depended on effective engagement strategies, online literacy building, and relationship supportive dynamics to ensure maximal gain while minimizing adverse relationship stressors.
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