Denmark-based think tank The Happiness Research Institute recently released the results of a study that examined the effects of Facebook use on happiness, according to Digital Trends. The study found that participants who quit Facebook for one week were happier, less worried and less lonely than a group of participants that continued to use Facebook.
"After one week without Facebook, the treatment group reported a significantly higher level of life satisfaction," the researchers wrote. "People on Facebook are 39 percent more likely to feel less happy than their friends,"
In addition to increased levels of happiness, participants who stopped using Facebook also experienced increased levels of concentration and higher levels of feeling productive.
One of the possible reasons for the decreased levels of happiness experienced by those that use Facebook is the increased levels of envy that come with the use of the website, according to ITWeb.
"Five out of 10 people envy the amazing experiences of others who post on Facebook, while one out of three envy how happy other people seem on Facebook, and four out of 10 envy the apparent success of others on Facebook," the researchers wrote. "Instead of focusing on what we actually need, we have an unfortunate tendency to focus on what other people have,"
This is not the first study focusing on the negative effects of social media platforms such as Facebook - a 2011 study focused on the "Facebook depression," sexting and cyberbullying that comes with the website.
"Social media is a non-stop great news channel: a constant flow of edited lives which distorts our perception of reality," the researchers wrote.
