A new paper by Elena Agadullina, Andrey Lovakov, and Natalia Kiselnikova is published in Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

A paper “Does quitting social networks change feelings of loneliness among freshmen? An experimental study” by Elena Agadullina, Andrey Lovakov, Research Fellow at CInSt, and Natalia Kiselnikova has been published in Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

This study is one of the few that uses experimental design to study the effects of using social networks on the psychological state of students in the context of higher education. The results showed that refusing social networks sites use can have a positive potential for psychological well-being of freshmen since solitude can be used by them as time for self-discovery and self-development. According to the results, social networks neither increase nor decrease the feeling of loneliness, and offline learning and communication environment plays a more significant role in the adaptation of freshmen. These results allow to take a new look at the studies related to the relationship between social networks sites use and loneliness and the role of social networks in the adaptation of freshmen.

Full paper can be found here.