The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel

In Harvard Business Review, Holly B. Shakya and Nicholas A. Christakis report the results of their rigorous study of Facebook use:

Overall, our results showed that, while real-world
social networks were positively associated with overall
well-being, the use of Facebook was negatively associated
with overall well-being. These results were particularly
strong for mental health; most measures of Facebook
use in one year predicted a decrease in mental health
in a later year. We found consistently that both liking
others��� content and clicking links significantly predicted
a subsequent reduction in self-reported physical health,
mental health, and life satisfaction.

Our models included measures of real-world networks
and adjusted for baseline Facebook use. When we accounted
for a person���s level of initial well-being, initial
real-world networks, and initial level of Facebook
use, increased use of Facebook was still associated
with a likelihood of diminished future well-being.
This provides some evidence that the association between
Facebook use and compromised well-being is a dynamic
process.

Be careful out there.

Harvard Business Review | The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel