

A new study shows that regular use of social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life. But you don’t have to quit Facebook altogether; simply changing your social networking behavior and taking an occasional break from Facebook may lift your spirits, according to the study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website until January 18, 2017.
In the article “The Facebook Experiment: Quitting Facebook Leads to Higher Levels of Well-Being,” Morten Tromholt, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, describes an experiment in which he gave more than 1,000 participants a pretest and then randomly assigned them to one of two conditions: continue using Facebook as usual; or stop using Facebook for a week. He reports on the negative effects of Facebook use on overall well-being, based on life satisfaction and emotions. After one week without Facebook, the treatment group showed statistically significant improvement in well-being, with gains varying depending on the amount of time they previously spent on Facebook and whether or not they were passive users and tended to envy others on Facebook.
“Confirming previous research, this study found that ‘lurking’ on Facebook may cause negative emotions. However, on the bright side, as previous studies have shown, actively connecting with close friends, whether in real life or on Facebook, may actually increase one’s sense of well-being,” says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
more recommended stories
Social networks can support academic success
Being friends with those who get.
Teens must ‘get smart’ about social media
New research indicates that social media.
Social media stress can lead to social media addiction
Social network users risk becoming more.
Frequent use of social media may compromise teenage girls’ mental health by increasing exposure to bullying and reducing sleep and physical exercise
First study to examine three mechanisms.
Researchers find WhatsApp can be good for our health
Academics at Edge Hill University have.
The influence of social media and children’s food intake
New University of Liverpool research, published.
Data show no evidence that teens’ social media use predicts depression over time
Results show that social media use.
Negative experiences on social media tied to higher odds of feeling lonely
Positive interactions on social media are.
Social media use increases depression and loneliness
In the first experimental study of.
How rants on social media can come back to haunt you
UC Davis study finds that negative.
Leave a Comment