Using Facebook can reduce young adults’ sense of well-being and satisfaction with life. Checking Facebook made people feel worse about both issues, and the more they browsed, the worse they felt, the University of Michigan research said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23709009 The study adds to a growing body of research saying Facebook can have negative psychological consequences. “On the surface, 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,” said the researchers.
Psychologist Graham Jones of the British Psychological Society – who was not involved with the study – said: “It confirms what some other studies have found – there is a growing depth of research that suggests Facebook has negative consequences.”
Results showed that the more people used Facebook, the worse they felt afterwards. But it did not show whether people used Facebook more or less depending on how they felt.
The team also found that the more the participants used the site, the more their life satisfaction levels declined. But researchers did find people spent more time on Facebook when they were feeling lonely – and not simply because they were alone at that precise moment.
Colloquially, this theory is known as FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out – a side effect of seeing friends and family sitting on beaches or having fun at parties while you are on a computer.
