Another study finds Facebook can make you depressed

[midian182]

In brief: Do you want an easy way to improve your mental state and general wellbeing? Then Quit Facebook. We’ve long known that the social network isn’t good for our health, and a new study has shown what it claims is proof.

A paper called “The Economic Effects of Facebook,” which was published this week in the journal Experimental Economics, examined 1,769 Texas A&M undergrads in 2017. The students were split into two groups: one that never accessed Facebook for a week and another that kept on using the site.

The participants spent a mean time of 1.9 hours per day on Facebook, which is a lot more than the estimated average of 38 minutes for US citizens. About 15 to 30 minutes of that time was spent consuming news.

“Overall, the effects our study finds on news awareness, news consumption, feelings of depression, and daily activities show that Facebook has significant effects on important aspects of life not directly related to building and supporting social networks,” the experiment found.

Additionally, those who weren’t using Facebook didn’t turn to traditional media as a substitute for the news they’d been consuming on the social media site.

In addition to avoiding what is usually quite depressing news, the group that stayed off Facebook also found they ate out less, made fewer impulse purchases, and were more efficient with their time, among other beneficial behaviors.

“Our results suggest that using Facebook induces feelings of depression,” wrote the researchers, which is something that’s been found in other studies.

One of the study’s concerning finds is that many people rely almost solely on Facebook for their news, which still has a problem with fake items. It’s launching a dedicated news tab either later this year or in 2020 that will be curated by journalists, so that should help weed out false stories, but if you want to feel better, maybe step away from the site for a while.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/82184-another-study-finds-facebook-can-make-you-depressed.html

 

[rub900]

I quit fb years ago. Best thing I ever done. I have not missed it once.

 

[theruck]

Anything can get you depressed... there is not point pointing it out
quiting watching TV/internet ads would be even also beneficial and no study is needed

 

[R00sT3R]

If you choose to swim in the sewer of social media, don't be surprised if you catch a disease.

 

[stewi0001]

I thought this was common knowledge.

 

[Skjorn]

Oh who woulda thought a website for narcissists would make you depressed.

 

[Jeff Re]

The headline is factually inaccurate. The study wasn't done on all adults, it was done on a group of people from a generation that needs an award for everything they do, whether they do it successfully or not.

 

[Skjorn]

The headline is factually inaccurate. The study wasn't done on all adults, it was done on a group of people from a generation that needs an award for everything they do, whether they do it successfully or not.

Damn no need to hate cause you're old now.

The study was done on adults though. Just young adults. Humans be humans. We all share the same tendencies.

 

[p51d007]

LOL...Fakebook, so called news websites, twitter, instagram. It's not the website, it's the people.
People have become addicted to being connected 24/7 they can't let it go. When they go to bed,
most of them have their phones, and it's the last thing they do. When they wake up in the middle of
the night to say, use the bathroom, they probably take their phone with them. When they wake up
in the morning, they pick up the phone. On the way to work, some are texting/driving, or on a bus/train,
with their phone. At work, they probably look at their phone a bunch. You've seen a lot of them suffering
from the PIH syndrome. Phone In Hand. They never put the d*mn things down. They never relax or unwind! Heck, even when they go to the beach, park etc, you see them looking at their phone.
I see some on walking trails that if a grizzly bear popped up, they'd NEVER see it because their heads
were buried in their phones!
For me, a phone is a work tool. At the end of the work day, and on weekends, unless someone calls me,
I never look at the d*mn thing.

 

[wiyosaya]

Me thinks having never joined fakebook has even better results.

 

[Jeff Re]

Damn no need to hate cause you're old now.

The study was done on adults though. Just young adults. Humans be humans. We all share the same tendencies.

Sorry, brains continue growing until at least age 25. Adults they are not. But then again, neither are half the rest of the "adults" out there.

 

[cliffordcooley]

No it is not Facebook. It is the very same condition on Facebook that make you depressed in real life. What are we trying to do here? Cut out the source and ignore what truly depresses us. Sounds about right, always pointing a finger at the middle man or messenger.

 

[Skjorn]

Sorry, brains continue growing until at least age 25. Adults they are not. But then again, neither are half the rest of the "adults" out there.

Sorry for what? law says 18 is adult smol brain or not.

 

[Capaill]

Sorry for what? law says 18 is adult smol brain or not.

Law is more accurate than science? Just because someone decided that 18 is the age for criminal prosecution, signing of contracts, starting permanent jobs, getting married, buying a gun, drinking alcohol, driving a car or whatever you associate with a grown up being allowed to do, doesn't change the biological fact that your brain is not fully developed until you are 25. Scientifically, anyone under 25 is still a child. And the majority of them act like it too.