A new study suggests that people who constantly use Facebook to check on their friends' posts and updates are more likely to experience symptoms of depression as they start to compare their own lives to others.
It is well-known that depression and envy go together, but little is known how they happen. Researchers at the University of Houston conducted two experiments to determine how social comparisons, or comparing oneself to peers, affect one's psychological health. They focused their study on Facebook users since earlier studies have linked the social networking site to feelings of depression and insecurity.
The participants were shown profiles with positive life events and were asked to compare themselves to the profile owners. The experiment showed that participants felt depressed after seeing others' posts. They also admitted that they feel envious and inferior compared to the other person.
The researchers concluded that regular Facebook users are more likely to experience depressive symptoms due to envy than those who rarely go online. It also revealed that men are more likely to compare themselves to others than women.
"It doesn't mean Facebook causes depression, but that depressed feelings and lots of time on Facebook and comparing oneself to others tend to go hand in hand," Steers said in a news release.
The researchers warned that the depression one feels after using Facebook is worse than face-to-face experience. Unlike the non-online scenario where one can avoid someone that can trigger his or her insecurity, Facebook users have no control over the things that their friends will post online.
"One danger is that Facebook often gives us information about our friends that we are not normally privy to, which gives us even more opportunities to socially compare," Steers said. "You can't really control the impulse to compare because you never know what your friends are going to post. In addition, most of our Facebook friends tend to post about the good things that occur in their lives, while leaving out the bad. If we're comparing ourselves to our friends' 'highlight reels,' this may lead us to think their lives are better than they actually are and conversely, make us feel worse about our own lives."
The finding of the study is beneficial in making people understand how their online posts can affect others. It can also help Facebook users, who are prone to social comparison, to know that they need to reduce their online time to lower their risks of depression.
The study was published in the April 7 issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
