The more time people spend on Facebook, the worse they feel.

whirlpool

I found this interesting because I left Facebook for that very reason - the more time I spent using it, the more unhappy I felt. What think yee? Article copied and pasted below.


SOURCE: http://news.sky.com/story/1128750/facebook-social-network-linked-to-unhappiness

Facebook: Social Network Linked To Unhappiness
Scientists studying a link between Facebook and unhappiness find the more time people spend on the network, the worse they feel.

Facebook could be spreading unhappiness through society as well as keeping people connected, research has shown.

The number one social networking site is strongly associated with declines in well-being, psychologists claim.

Scientists found the more time people spent on Facebook over a two-week period, the worse they subsequently felt.

In contrast, talking to friends on the phone or meeting them in person led to greater levels of happiness.

Study leader Dr Ethan Kross, from the University of Michigan in the US, said: "On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection.

"But rather than enhance well-being, we found that Facebook use predicts the opposite result - it undermines it."

The researchers recruited 82 young adults, all of whom had smartphones and Facebook accounts.

To assess their personal levels of well-being, participants were sent questions by text message at five random times each day for two weeks.

The "experience sampling" technique is a recognised reliable way of measuring how people think, feel and behave in their day-to-day lives.

Participants were asked how they felt "right now", how worried or lonely they were, and to what extent they had been using Facebook or interacting with other people directly.

Writing in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE, the researchers said higher levels of Facebook use correlated with greater loss of well-being.

Volunteers were also asked to rate their level of life satisfaction at the start and end of the study.

Over the two-week period, satisfaction ratings were found to decline the more people used Facebook.

"This is a result of critical importance because it goes to the very heart of the influence that social networks may have on people's lives," said University of Michigan neuroscientist and co-author Dr John Jonides.

KeithM89

You could say the same for Boards too :P

Czarcasm

That "news", really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone tbh.

Dostoevsky

No doubt about that. Every forum that revolves around somebody's ego will ultimately make people feel bad. To take ego-centric occupations to their extreme, "all political careers end in failure".

The stupidity is when people keep their Facebook etc account even though they know it's going to make them feel worse about themselves.

IvaBigWun

Any long time spent not talking to real people is not good mmmkay?

jank

You can extend that out to Internet.

Jester252

I like how the report only dealt with Facebook. Wonder if Myspace/Goggle + funded the research

NegativeCreep

I just use facebook to look at teh meems tbh. Makes me feel great.

Red About Town

I use Facebook to chat to friends who are abroad, keep up to date with what's happening in the lives of friends who aren't that close etc. I think it's great and never feel bad from using it.

If it was my only social outlet though I may feel different.

BrokenArrows

I think that's just with people who don't actually have any friends. If you spent a huge amount of time on a website dedicated to friends interacting and you don't have any then yes you are going to feel bad

Potatoeman

I have a friend thats on it all the time. They spend hours hitting the refresh button.

danniemcq

Imagine the scenario.

You're lying on the couch not wanting to go or do anything, there is nothing on TV, you're broke, you're eating pot noodle with a knife and teaspoon cause you're to lazy to do the dishes, its raining etc its just one of "those" days.

You look at facebook and your entire newsfeed is people you know, your friends and family are having the time of their life. There is a dozen of them away on sun holidays, there is a heap of them out out that night, someone has put up pictures of the present their OH got them or a glorious meal that was cooked for them, there is people showing their cute animals or kids

Your facebook newsfeed shows EVERYONE but you is living the perfect life.

Now you're feeling crappy but you can't let anyone else know that so in a depressed state you now upload a new status, "Enjoying a quiet night in after a bath and fave movie on, food cooked and ready to go, couldn't be happier" and now someone else having the same kinda day as you sees your post and thinks that person is living perfect life.

Talib Fiasco

Well considering the majority of people on Facebook use it as a means of feeding their ego, yeah there's obviously going to be problems at some stage. That's the reason I left. People fishing for likes and sympathy comments etc.

Now there's obviously the people who use it to chat to relatives abroad and that's brilliant but the fact is that it's overly consumed by people who have low self esteem, always post status' about how bad their life is just due to having received the free texts message from Meteor and they change their 'selfie' profile picture hoping people will comment on their burned bleached hair.

Maybe it's just the people I know, even though most people added me and not the other way around but I look at my friends on it and it's the same sh*t.