Feeling Sad? Facebook Could Be the Cause
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(OREM, Utah) — There are plenty of reasons to feel down in today’s hectic world, but you may not think the world’s most popular social networking site would be one of them. But that’s exactly what a new study by Utah Valley University has found.
According to the study, it all goes back to the kinds of pictures people tend to post on their Facebook pages. These photos generally depict smiling, happy people having good times, conveying a sense of happiness that may be inflated or false. As others view the photos, they may believe this sense of intense happiness is real, making them think that their friends are much happier than they are.
The study, which was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, also found that people who spent less time socializing with friends in cyberspace and more time socializing with them on the ground were less likely to report they were unhappy.
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