The Influence of Social Media on User’s Emotional Regulation Mechanism

Abstract

The popularization of social media has made it have more impact on the public, including feedback, but also brings people problems, such as anxiety and polarization of views. This review analyzes the double influence of social media on the emotional regulation mechanism, based on the theory of emotional regulation, the theory of use and satisfying, and social comparative theory. Social media can strengthen users' positive emotions through providing social support, channels for emotional catharsis, and illustrating comments with positive impacts, but can also lead to problems like the accumulation and diffusion of negative emotions due to its information cocoon bondage, comparison of upward society, and information overload, etc. For these problems ,this review provides users, social media ,all sectors such as schools and families and with suggestions on optimization.: the users should proactively manage the content they are exposed to ,and balance online and offline interaction; the social platform ought to improve the algorithm ethics and provide users with a healthy use path ;schools and parents need to strengthen the cultivation of children’s digital literacy ,and the organizations are suggested to propagandize knowledge that is relevant to emotional regulation in order to improve the public’s emotional coping abilities .This research provides theoretical support and practical methods to promote the healthy use of social media.