Is Facebook making you feel bummed out? If so, you’re not the only one. Studies have shown that most college users find their social network activity to be a bit depressing.
A recent research done out of the University of Michigan surveyed undergrads , who live near the campus, with questions asked via text messages. Amazingly, the report revealed that the more time students spent on Facebook, the more bummed they became about life. It’s said that the average user spends a total of 32 minutes on the site on a daily basis.
This study is pretty telling, and we wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that Facebook is quickly becoming littered with news of the day. Many find out about school shootings, bombings, and celebrity deaths on Facebook than on the tube.
Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan said: “The more people reported using Facebook, the more negative they were feeling following Facebook use.” The study only included college users because “they tend to be heavy users of Facebook.”
Another psychologist from the University of Michigan discussed the study, even though he wasn’t a part of it, telling NBC News:
“There’s no such thing as one type of Facebook use[r]” calling the study, “a good gateway into other types of other questions we might ask about overall Facebook use.”
Of course, a data scientist from Facebook has spoken about the study. Moira Burke is a researcher of human-computer interaction. Burke cites that, “what you’re doing online, and whom you’re doing it with” is a huge influence.
In another psychologist’s research it has been claimed that Facebook is a social activity, and usually includes interaction between one individual and several people. However Nicole Ellison, another researcher from the college says that Facebook is a “solitary action” and this might be leading to the gloomy state of its users.
What do you think? Does Facebook get you down?
