Social media sites with downvote functions induce measurable psychological harm.
the verdict
INSUFFICIENT LEANING
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
2 sources for · 0 against
AS REPORTEDno primary record reached; this is what the reporting says
Retrieved evidence partially supports the notion that negative social media feedback threatens psychological needs and causes distress, but does not provide direct causal proof of measurable psychological harm specifically induced by downvote functions.
Longitudinal effects of social media feedback on psychological distress in young adults: the mediating roles of self-esteem and social comparison | BMC Psychology | Springer Nature Link
# Longitudinal effects of social media feedback on psychological distress in young adults: the mediating roles of self-esteem and social comparison
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- Published: 05 June 2026
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## Abstract
### Background
Social media feedback, particularly likes and comments, has become an important source of social validation for young adults. However, the longitudinal effects of such feedback on psychological distress and the underlying psychological mechanisms remain unclear.
### Methods
This study employed a three-wave longitudinal design over eight months to examine the effects of social media likes and comments feedback on depressive and anxiety symptoms among 398 Chinese young adults (mean age = 21.34 years, 58.3% female). Cross-lagged panel models were used to test bidirectional relationships, and bias-corrected bootstrap methods were applied to examine the mediating roles of self-esteem and social comparison
Is receiving Dislikes in social media still better than being ignored? The effects of ostracism and rejection on need threat and coping responses online: Media Psychology: Vol 24, No 6
## ABSTRACT
When posting content in social media, users can feel excluded due to lacking (cyber-ostracism) or negative (cyber-rejection) feedback. Referring to the temporal need-threat model, this study examined the impact that both exclusion experiences have on social media users’ need threat and on their online coping behavior to fortify threatened needs. For this purpose, a pre-registered between-subjects experiment (N = 211) was conducted by manipulating the type of social exclusion on three levels (ostracism; rejection; inclusion). Results indicated that both types of exclusion threatened media users’ needs for belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control. Compared to ostracized users, rejected ones were more threatened in their needs for belonging and self-esteem, but equally threatened in their needs for meaningful existence and control. Regarding social media users’ coping behavior, ostracized users showed more prosocial behavior, whereas rejected ones rather withdrew from soci
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