Posting under pressure: Politicians active on social media are more stressed

While social media has become an indispensable tool for politicians’ communication with citizens and other stakeholders, emerging qualitative evidence suggests that its use may be associated with diminished well-being and reduced performance within the parliamentary arena – potentially undermining democratic processes. Combining insights from a representative survey study of politicians in Denmark ( n   =  1233) with data on their observed social media usage (Facebook: 24,625 posts; Instagram: 13,019 posts), this study is the first to test the generalizability of this emerging evidence and advance our theoretical understanding of the conditions under which politicians’ social media usage is connected to stress. The study demonstrates a significant, positive correlation between politicians’ social media usage and self-reported stress symptoms and points to excessive usage as the primary explanation behind the association. Furthermore, exposure to online harassment is a crucial mediating factor in the association.