Categories
internet mental health social media social science

More evidence Facebook usage correlates with lower self esteem

Another study adds weight to findings that mental health declines as Facebook usage increases. The effect is thought mainly to result from involuntary judgments we make about ourselves in comparison with others whose social media presence is carefully curated and filtered to paint unrealistically positive pictures of their lives. Another possible contributing factor is that online usage (averages over one hour per day for Facebook users) detracts from time available for in-person socializing, which is known to contribute mental health.