Facebook is a daily ritual, for some people, while others use it occasionally to stay updated with their friends and family. But this same network that has helped to connect millions of people around the world could be silently spreading a deadly virus, as a group of researchers now claims that Facebook is making its’ users more miserable.
According to this new research by the University of Michigan, Facebook has influenced people to lower their feelings of happiness. ”Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it.” The researchers says, “The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time.”
To me, even thinking about logging in to Facebook is miserable enough because I usually get a headache when I see all those sad, irritating, self-promoting status updates and photos from my friends and a whole bunch of people I’ve never even met. Just as Cnet points out, These researchers “saw no evidence that people turned to Facebook as a pick-me-up”, obviously teens these days have better ways to deal with depression. Then again, this research was made among 82 young adults, which is nothing compared to the total 1 billion users.
However, I can only speak for myself. So, do you think these folks are onto something? Or are they just assuming things without proper research? I think Facebook users will have something to say about this. Let out your rage in the comments.
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Roshan Jerad Perera
