Women are now more active than men across major social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook and have a stronger attachment to social networking than do men, but does time spent online and the aspirational messages they’re bombarded with on these sites actually have a negative effect on their psyches? Considered in light of Newsweek’s recent feature on the mounting evidence that intense internet usage contributes to increased anxiety and depression and even psychosis, it’s a fair and timely question to ask.
Take for example, Pinterest, where 82% of traffic comes from women. Pinterest is now a top driver of traffic to the websites of women’s lifestyle, home décor and cooking mags, including Martha Stewart, Elle Décor and House Beautiful. Jezebel defended Pinterest as allowing women to create an image of their ideal life through collected imagery, but their endorsement reads more like vapid and dated marketing copy than a shrewd assessment of the site’s value to members.