According to research published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking , regular use of social networks like Facebook can negatively affect emotional balance and feelings of well-being and satisfaction with life . But it is not necessary to remove yourself from Facebook at once. Simply change your social media habits and take occasional breaks to improve your mood.
In the aforementioned study, entitled The Facebook Experiment: leaving Facebook leads to higher states of well-being , Morten Tromholt, from the University of Copenhagen, describes the experience he carried out with more than 1,000 participants.
Tromholt gave them a test and then randomly assigned them to choose one of two conditions: continue to enter Facebook at the usual pace or stop using this social network for a week . The result revealed the negative effects of Facebook on general well-being based on emotions and life satisfaction. After a week without Facebook , those who opted for this option showed a significant improvement in their well-being , with variations depending on the time they previously spent on that social network or if they were more or less active or rather passive users who tended to envy the most active.
Confirming other previous studies, this research reveals that always being expectant and lurking on Facebook can produce negative feelings and emotions. Instead, actively connecting with close friends, whether in real life or on Facebook , increases feelings of well-being.
