SNS 적극 이용자 30.1% '외롭다'…서울 성인 3만 4142명 조사
30.1% of Active Social Media Users Feel Lonely, a Study of 34,142 Seoul Adults Finds
Part of the October 6, 2026 daily edition
민경복 서울대 의대 예방의학교실 교수 연구팀이 서울에 사는 성인 3만 4142명(평균 나이 52.3세)을 조사했습니다. SNS를 적극적으로 이용하는 사람은 30.1%가 외로움을 느낀다고 답했고, 적극적으로 이용하지 않는 사람은 23.3%였습니다. 남과 비교하면서 SNS를 하는 이용자는 34.4%가, 비교하지 않는 이용자는 22.9%가 외롭다고 답했습니다. SNS에서 소외감을 느끼는 이용자는 37.5%가 외로움을 느꼈습니다. 반면 정보를 찾으려고 SNS를 쓰는 사람은 27.9%로, 그렇지 않은 이용자(25.4%)와 비슷했습니다. SNS 이용과 외로움의 연관성은 20~50대보다 60대 이상에서 더 강하게 나타났고, 연구 결과는 ’예방의학 및 공중보건 저널’에 게재됐습니다.
Translation
A research team led by Professor Min Kyoung-bok of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine surveyed 34,142 adults living in Seoul (average age 52.3). Of the people who use social media actively, 30.1% said they felt lonely, compared with 23.3% of those who do not use it actively. Among users who compare themselves with others on social media, 34.4% said they were lonely, against 22.9% of users who do not compare themselves with others. Of the users who feel left out on social media, 37.5% felt lonely. On the other hand, the figure for people who use social media to look for information was 27.9%, similar to the 25.4% of users for whom that is not the main purpose. The link between social media use and loneliness was stronger in people aged 60 and over than in people in their 20s to 50s, and the results were published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.
Vocabulary
- 외로움명사 (noun)loneliness
- 적극적으로부사 (adverb)actively
- 이용자명사 (noun)user
- 비교하다동사 (verb)to compare
- 소외감명사 (noun)a sense of being left out, alienation
- 탐색명사 (noun)search, exploration
- 연관성명사 (noun)association, connection
- 게재되다동사 (verb)to be published (in a journal)
Grammar points
-다고 답하다to answer that
-다고 답하다 reports what people said in a survey: 외로움을 느낀다고 답했고, (they) answered that they feel lonely.
Example: SNS를 적극적으로 이용하는 사람은 30.1%가 외로움을 느낀다고 답했고, 적극적으로 이용하지 않는 사람은 23.3%였습니다.
Of the people who use social media actively, 30.1% said they felt lonely, compared with 23.3% of those who do not use it actively.
-(으)면서while ...ing
-(으)면서 joins two actions happening at the same time: 남과 비교하면서 SNS를 하는, using social media while comparing oneself with others.
Example: 남과 비교하면서 SNS를 하는 이용자는 34.4%가, 비교하지 않는 이용자는 22.9%가 외롭다고 답했습니다.
Among users who compare themselves with others on social media, 34.4% said they were lonely, against 22.9% of users who do not compare themselves with others.
N보다 N에서 더 -게 나타나다to appear more ... in N than in N
나타나다 (to appear) is the standard verb for reporting a research result; with N보다 it compares groups: 20~50대보다 60대 이상에서 더 강하게 나타났고, appeared more strongly in those 60 and over than in their 20s to 50s.
Example: SNS 이용과 외로움의 연관성은 20~50대보다 60대 이상에서 더 강하게 나타났고, 연구 결과는 '예방의학 및 공중보건 저널'에 게재됐습니다.
The link between social media use and loneliness was stronger in people aged 60 and over than in people in their 20s to 50s, and the results were published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health.
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