The experimental effect of social media use, treadmill walking, studying, and a control condition on positive and negative affect in college students

Using a within-subjects design, this study assessed the experimental effect of common activities upon positive and negative affect scores in a college student sample. All participants completed the following 30-minute activity conditions: treadmill walking, self-selected schoolwork (i.e., studying), social media use, and a control condition where participants sat in a quiet room (i.e., do nothing). Positive and negative affect scores were assessed at baseline, mid-, and post-condition. Positive affect scores increased by 26% and 10% during the treadmill and studying conditions, respectively. Conversely, positive affect decreased by 20% and 24% during the social media and “do nothing” conditions, respectively. Furthermore, negative affect was decreased by 8% in the studying condition. These changes were statistically significant ( p ≤ 0.04). This suggests that college students’ everyday activities can significantly impact affect, for better and for worse. As demonstrated, studying and walking may improve affect, whereas social media use may negatively impact affect.