Do you ever log on to Facebook and feel overcome by a wave of FOMO (fear of missing out)? Are you depressed by friends’ wedding photos and parties from the night before?
An academic study states that using the world’s largest social network can harm one’s sense of happiness and wellbeing. The study also found Facebook use negatively impacts how users feel “moment to moment” as well as how satisfied they feel with their lives overall.
Researchers from the University of Michigan surveyed 82 young adults, asking them how frequently they had used Facebook lately and their feelings. For two weeks, the researchers sent participants five text messages each day asking them to check-in online.
“On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling such needs by allowing people to instantly connect,” the study reads. “Rather than enhancing wellbeing, as frequent interactions with supportive ‘offline’ social networks powerfully do, the current findings demonstrate that interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults — it may undermine it.”
Researchers also found that the more frequently participants used Facebook, the worse they felt, both in their short-term and bigger-picture satisfaction levels.
However, the study also lists several caveats. While enough participants reported declines in happiness to register a direct negative correlation between Facebook use and satisfaction with life, those declines were relatively minor. So you may not need to delete your account just yet.
