The unhappiness of Facebook

[Jeremiah Ames]

The happiness Research Institute did a study on Facebook users.

It took a group of people who use Facebook daily and split the people into two groups.

The first group continued as usual.

The second group did not use Facebook for a week.


The participants were asked questions after the week, about how they felt.


The group that abstained were happier, less stressed, less depressed, more enthusiastic, were less angry, less worried and enjoyed life more. And they were less lonely!!


You can search online for the happiness Research Institute and locate the experiment and read the whole thing.


Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Do you agree with the experiment results?

 

[Brickjectivity]

The happiness Research Institute did a study on Facebook users.

It took a group of people who use Facebook daily and split the people into two groups.

The first group continued as usual.

The second group did not use Facebook for a week.


The participants were asked questions after the week, about how they felt.


The group that abstained were happier, less stressed, less depressed, more enthusiastic, were less angry, less worried and enjoyed life more. And they were less lonely!!


You can search online for the happiness Research Institute and locate the experiment and read the whole thing.


Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Do you agree with the experiment results?

1 week is not enough. A person who is fired from their job is a little happier for a week.

 

[Spice]

I went from a daily to a rarely fb user. I joined to keep in touch with people who are important to me, but not in my day-to-day life, like nieces/nephews, former classmates, etc. Unfortunately the postings aren't the same as the old-world-style letter would have been. Yeh, I get pictures of the babies, and "had a horrific bout with the flu", but I also get so much BS "shares" and so-called "news" articles that I began disliking people I truly LOVE! I went an entire year without logging on, and now I check in about once a week. Much better, but it's a shame, really. I know I'm missing out on good stuff while trying to avoid the not so good.

 

[David1967]

The happiness Research Institute did a study on Facebook users.

It took a group of people who use Facebook daily and split the people into two groups.

The first group continued as usual.

The second group did not use Facebook for a week.


The participants were asked questions after the week, about how they felt.


The group that abstained were happier, less stressed, less depressed, more enthusiastic, were less angry, less worried and enjoyed life more. And they were less lonely!!


You can search online for the happiness Research Institute and locate the experiment and read the whole thing.


Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Do you agree with the experiment results?

I have a Facebook page for my business. It's a great advertising tool, but I don't have a personal one. RF is the only social media I do.

 

[England my lionheart]

I get fed up with the ads and rubbish but I check in every couple of days as I'm a long way from home so it's good to see family and friends on there.

 

[Jumi]

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Yes, a permanent one.

 

[Srivijaya]

Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Yes to both.

I call it Boastbook because that's just about all anyone does on mine - that and espouse odious opinions, share fake news stories, pictures of their kids, cats, breakfast and other trivial stuff in the pursuit of 'likes'.

I'm on it as it's the only channel of contact I have to several people and an organisation I'm part of, but I rarely post anything myself and I have plenty of people on ignore for my own well-being.

It's one thing encountering idiots on open fora but it's quite another when the idiots are people you know in meatspace and have to deal with from time to time.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I check mine out every few months or so.

 

[Twilight Hue]

The happiness Research Institute did a study on Facebook users.

It took a group of people who use Facebook daily and split the people into two groups.

The first group continued as usual.

The second group did not use Facebook for a week.


The participants were asked questions after the week, about how they felt.


The group that abstained were happier, less stressed, less depressed, more enthusiastic, were less angry, less worried and enjoyed life more. And they were less lonely!!


You can search online for the happiness Research Institute and locate the experiment and read the whole thing.


Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Do you agree with the experiment results?

The way Facebook operates and spams your emails with fake messages from your friends list with some link they looked at, I don't think it's any surprise people are much happier when they drop it.

Facebook's the most irritating social media platform I've ever come across.

 

[HonestJoe]

Do you agree with the experiment results?

The question isn’t about the results, it’s about the interpretation. I’d suggest that similar results may well come from any short-term shift in daily habits, that the general freshness of the changed schedule and whatever is used to replace the removed activity could have a similar benefit. I don’t think that means any specific activity or tool is the fundamental cause of unhappiness. Facebook is ultimately just a tool and like pretty much any tool, it can be used for good, bad or indifferent things.

 

[Frater Sisyphus]

I don't use it much myself. When it comes to staying in contact with people you might not otherwise be able to contact, it is useful (way more efficient than email)

Facebook groups have their ups and downs but just with forums like RF, they are usually good.

Otherwise, Facebook has very little value in my life and I don't spend a lot of time on it. I don't really find it appealing, let alone addictive

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

I quit it entirely, and don't intend on getting back to it any time soon. My biggest issue with it - and maybe this was some of what made people "lighter" after quitting for a week - is the constant barrage of items people seem to find amusing that are nothing more than traps they've fallen into, stuff they are gullible enough to "like" because it is catchy or superficially "witty", or things that are only considered funny because they blatantly propagate stereotypes of one kind or another. In other words... a bunch of crap that makes you wonder for the future of humanity as a whole, if this is the type of garbage we occupy ourselves with.

 

[Quintessence]

Could you provide a link to this study, @Gerry ? I suppose I'm old fashioned, but I expect people to cite their sources rather than say "search for it yourself."

 

[Rational Agnostic]

The happiness Research Institute did a study on Facebook users.

It took a group of people who use Facebook daily and split the people into two groups.

The first group continued as usual.

The second group did not use Facebook for a week.


The participants were asked questions after the week, about how they felt.


The group that abstained were happier, less stressed, less depressed, more enthusiastic, were less angry, less worried and enjoyed life more. And they were less lonely!!


You can search online for the happiness Research Institute and locate the experiment and read the whole thing.


Are there any Facebook users here who feel their use causes negative feelings?

Have you ever taken a break from it?

Do you agree with the experiment results?

I don't use facebook, so don't know.

 

[Jeremiah Ames]

Could you provide a link to this study, @Gerry ? I suppose I'm old fashioned, but I expect people to cite their sources rather than say "search for it yourself."

Sure.
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/928487_680fc12644c8428eb728cde7d61b13e7.pdf
Enjoy.

Being somewhat “old fashioned”, I always fret about posting links.