Excessive time on Facebook can lead to depression – Study
A study by social psychologists at the University of Michigan has shown that excessive time on Facebook can lead to depression.
The study conducted in 2013, tracked the Facebook use of 82 young adults over a two-week period.
“When we feel like we are outside a circle of safety, with no sense of belonging and no sense that others love and care for us, we feel out of control, abandoned and left for dead. And when we feel that isolated, we become desperate. Virtual relationships can’t help solve this real problem. In fact, they could be making the situation worse.
“People who spend excessive time on Facebook frequently become depressed as they compare the perception of their lives with their perception of the lives of others. A 2013 study by social psychologists at the University of Michigan tracked the Facebook use of 82 young adults over a two-week period.
“At the start of the study, they rated how satisfied they were with their lives. The researchers then checked in with the subjects every two hours, five times a day, to see how they were feeling about themselves and also how much time they were spending on Facebook. The more time they spent on Facebook since the last check-in, the worse they felt.
“And at the end of the two weeks, the subjects who had spent the most time overall on Facebook reported less satisfaction with their lives. ‘Rather than enhancing well-being…’ the study concluded, ‘interacting with Facebook may predict the opposite result for young adults – it may undermine it.'”
– Simon Sinek, in ‘Leaders Eat Last’
