A research from the University of California and Yale has shown that people who obsessively use Facebook are depressed
Are you big fans of social networks and Facebook in particular? Beware it could be a first symptom of depression. To say so is a research carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Yale. The study analyzed the link between Facebook use and mental health.
The research was disclosed via a lengthy in-depth study in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Scientists used data found in the Gallup Panel Social Network Study report and combined it with “objective measures of Facebook use” and responses offered to them by 5,208 volunteers who participated in the research. This lengthy analysis showed that high use of the social network can represent serious mental disorders related to depression. Beware, however, that it is not the use that causes depression, but rather the depressed people who use the social network more than those who do not experience these symptoms.
What the study says
According to the study, people with a compromised sense of well-being tend to seek compassion, comfort, from other users through Facebook in order to alleviate their inner discomfort. The main problem is that feeling less lonely within a Social Network does not help the person with mental disorders to decrease their sense of incompleteness and malaise. Scientists made some comparisons and people with symptoms of depression who had more contact with people in a physical way responded more positively than those who used social exclusively. In addition, it is interesting to note that people who use Facebook obsessively may also have weight problems. Of course, even in this case, social is not the cause. But a sedentary lifestyle and low self-confidence lead people to also have problems with their bodies. Scientists say that for privacy reasons not all respondents wanted to release personal data. Only younger people did. And the research found that more women than men use Facebook more when afflicted with the first symptoms of depression.