Why Too Much Facebook Can Make You Feel Depressed

In the 1950s, Leon Festinger;
Psychologist; presented a social
comparison theory. He proposed that
individuals have a tendency to compare
their lives with each other.

They dothis to feel better about themselves,
but it can also backfire. Whenever you
see some one less fortunate you might
feel sorrow but you always feel a little
relief or joy that you aren’t in that
person’s shoes. In much the same way
you also feel a tinge of sorrow when
some one is much better off in any field
of life. It’s human nature. And it’s only
intensified by Facebook.

Recently a study was conducted in
collaboration with the University of
Houston and the University of Palo Alto
regarding this phenomenon. It surveyed
98 men and 236 women who were in
their twenties. They were the subjects
of two experiments. One conducted
across one day and the other across 14
days. On average, both genders
reported increased bouts of depression
when they increasingly used Facebook.
The social comparisons were primarily
getting them down. Consider the
scenario that you didn’t go to a party
and that you really regret it. Then
people start posting pictures on
facebook and you feel worse. It’s not
the most implausible thing.
Lives on Facebook are all filtered.

Which is why we always see the good
parts of everyone’s lives. There are
problems in everyone’s lives and
facebook hides that. So if too much of
it is getting you down. Just take a
break and put down the computer.