Is Facebook making you unhappy?

Researchers find a correlation between using the social network and a decline in user well-being

 

Results showed that the more the participants were active on the social networking site during one period, the worse they subsequently felt.

Using Facebook may makes us feel more connected, but it does not necessarily make us happy, according to the findings of a new study.

Research comparing how 82 young adults felt at differenttimes of the day with their Facebook use found that regular use ofthe social network predicted a decline in user well-being.
Researchers based at the University of Michigan sent text messagesto each participant five times a day to examine how they werefeeling emotionally from “moment-to-moment” and how "satisfied"they were with their lives.
Questions the participants were askedto answer included: "How do you feel right now? How worried are youright now? How lonely do you feel right now? How much have you usedFacebook since the last time we asked? How much have you interactedwith other people "directly" since the last time we asked?"
Resultsshowed that the more the participants were active on the socialnetworking site during one period, the worse they subsequentlyfelt.
But the more face-to-face contact participants had with otherpeople, the happier they gradually became.
They also found noevidence for two alternative possible explanations for the findingthat Facebook undermines happiness - people were not more likely touse Facebook when they felt bad.