By Sammie Jones-
A Facebook research conducted by the University of Coppenhagen comes with mixed feelings.
It has its strengths and its flaws.Its strength include the obvious sensible conclusions, and its flaws are those presumptions made from a very limited sample.
I was once a facebook user and ditched it because I found some aspects of it intrusive.
I felt over monitored by my partner at the time who has a jealous streak no woman likes in a man. However, this apart, facebook will affect people differently depending on the type of person they are and their current circumstances and moods.
The facebook research which suggests that browsing at Christmas and seeing all those “perfect” families and holiday photos – is more likely to make you miserable than festive, depends on various individuals.
The study which drew samples of over 1,000 people admits to have been made up of mostly women. That in itself is a flaw because people are made up of men and women. Drawing a sample from just over 1,000 people is not enough to make wider conclusions of the type made.
The University of Coppenhagen study claims excessive use of social media can create feelings of envy. However, it can also create feelings of motivation. Seeing things that a user likes in another’s profile does not necessarily have to result in envy or jealousy, it can also be a driving force to betetr themselves.
The University of Coppenhagen research is correct that envy will result in some people, but applying this to a general assumption will not prove accurate. The research warns about the negative impact of “lurking” on social media without connecting with anyone.
This may not be a healthy practise, since interaction is good. It still does not necessarily indicate a negative trend of emotions that must accompany lurking. Individuals may lurk as their own form of relaxation.
The study concludes that social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life”.
Facebook Research Warns of Mood Deterioration
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen warned of envy and a “deterioration of mood” from spending too long looking at other people’s social media stories, induced by “unrealistic social comparisons”.
The research claims that the posts and boasts of others can be depressing and irritating. A missing suggestion is to tell those irritated to resoond to the baosts or posts irritating them by criticising them. This will come under interacting with other users, somehting the research encourages.
Actively engaging in conversation and connecting with people on social media as a much more positive experience. The research was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking.
This seems to be much less gloomy than “passive” users who spend too long “lurking” on social networking websites without getting involved.
Another approach to improve well-being, according to the study, is to stop using social media altogether for a week.
That’s if you can resist the temptation to look at all those unbearably smug pictures of skiing holidays..A break from anything is healthy from time to time, so this suggestion has its useful benefits.
The university of Coppenhagen is strong in research in many areas and awards grants to many projects useful to society and general debate