A LifeStance Health survey links social media anxiety to changes in public behavior.
Photo credit: Kajetan Sumila on Unsplash
A new study by US mental healthcare provider LifeStance Health has found that 49% of Gen Z respondents hold back from dancing in public because of concerns about being filmed and posted online.
The research, based on a survey of 1,000 US adults aged 18 and older, examines anxiety surrounding the possibility of becoming viral content without consent. Across all age groups, 30% of respondents reported restricting their behavior on the dancefloor for similar reasons.
The findings extend beyond nightlife. Among Gen Z participants, 43% said they hold back their emotions in public, while 38% expressed concerns about acting silly or telling jokes. More than four in ten respondents also associated this anxiety with reduced enjoyment of the present moment, lower mood, disrupted sleep, and diminished confidence.
Across generations, 47% of adults identified the widespread presence of phone cameras and wearable recording technology, combined with social media sharing, as a reason they feel unable to relax in public spaces.
Speaking to BBC News, Cardiff University student Freya Price raised concerns about devices such as Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which make recording less noticeable. “I find it quite scary how easy it’s becoming to film people and post them on social media without them even knowing there’s a camera”, she said.
The findings arrive amid growing interest in phone-free nightlife experiences. An April report from Eventbrite identified a 567% increase in phone-free events since 2024, reflecting wider efforts to reconsider the role of personal devices in shared spaces.
Read the complete LifeStance Health ‘Fear of Going Viral’ report and explore its findings here.
