Using Facebook too much can cause unhappiness.
A recent study published by the Public Library of Science examined 82 users in their late teens or early 20s and found that people who frequently used Facebook felt worse about themselves. Another study identified the most common negative emotion associated with Facebook: envy.
“The way we make sense out of the world is we compare ourselves to others,” said UF Counseling & Wellness Center counselor Linda Lewis. “It’s not a very productive strategy, and if somebody came in talking to me about that, I would try to look at what’s really going on there.”
She also said self-comparison is rampant in all forms of social media but suggested that Facebook could be “amplifying” the self-comparing nature of people.
Marketing junior Jessica Mabrey, 20, said she could understand how Facebook could worsen the feelings of those already upset.
“But I don’t see it being something that would make someone who is otherwise happy, sad,” she said.
Lewis said the people most hurt by social networking were likely dissatisfied to begin with.
“If you’re prone to low self-esteem, and your really important activity is seeing who’s better, who’s better looking, who’s got more dates … you’re going to find what you’re looking for,” she said.
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/10/2013 under the headline "Excessive Facebook use can lead to self-esteem issues, study says"
