Even depression can be caused by excessive engagement with Facebook, especially when our friends' posts make us jealous.
Facebook is tracking our movements on the Internet. A new privacy policy established by the company allows the website to record your activity even when you leave the social networking site. The change in the privacy policy allows the website to collect data from your activity across the Internet, while also collecting information that you and your friends post. According to the relevant article in the British Independent, once all this data is collected, Facebook distributes it to other websites, such as Instagram.
Admittedly, the company announced in November that it was going to enforce this change, while today it claims that users were notified by email. At the same time, it opened a type of public dialogue about the new policy, allowing users to discuss the issue at length. Today, any user who wants to can change the new privacy policy by selecting the relevant settings.
Also, a major American study is sounding the alarm for Facebook, indicating that using the social networking site can cause envy in users, a feeling that can develop into depression.
Admittedly, millions of people log on to Facebook every day, according to a report by the Telegraph. According to researchers at the University of Missouri who conducted the study, this activity affects them emotionally more than they themselves admit.
Professor Margaret Duffy, who co-authored the study, points out that the way Facebook users use the site plays a key role in how they react to it.
"Facebook can be a good pastime, a fun and healthy activity, as long as users use it to stay in touch with family members and old friends and to share important and interesting aspects of their lives. However, if it is used to see how rich an old friend is or how happy they are in their relationship, things that can cause jealousy, Facebook can even lead to the appearance of clinical depression.".
For the study, 700 young Facebook users answered questions from scientists. It was found that those who used Facebook to monitor how friends and acquaintances were doing in various aspects of their lives were more likely to report feeling depressed. In contrast, those who used the site simply to stay connected with friends and acquaintances did not show negative reactions.
The comparison
According to the researchers, posts about exotic holidays, expensive cars and beautiful houses, as well as happy "movie" families, awaken jealousy in us, which usually develops into depression. As Professor Duffy notes, "we found that if users feel envious of the way their friends live or their activities, then they usually complain of some symptoms of clinical depression. Facebook can be a very positive activity for many people, but not for those who try to compare the way they and their friends live through the site.".
The research is published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
