Skip to main content

Facebook is stressing you out, says study

facebook-stress-futurama-fryHaving a thousand friends may seem like a dream come true, but a new study shows that the more friends you have on Facebook, the more likely you are to feel stressed out. Dr. Kathy Charles of the Edinburgh Napier University in the U.K. interviewed and surveyed 200 students, asking them questions about Facebook and how they use it in their daily lives. The conclusion: the negative effects of Facebook may actually outweigh its benefits.

“Our data also suggests that there is a significant minority of users who experience considerable Facebook-related anxiety, with only very modest or tenuous rewards,” said Dr. Kathy Charles. “And we found it was actually those with the most contacts, those who had invested the most time in the site, who were the ones most likely to be stressed.”

Survey of attitudes toward Facebook:

  • 12 percent of respondents said that Facebook made them feel anxious
  • 63 percent delayed replying to friend requests
  • 32 percent said rejecting friend requests led to feelings of guilt and discomfort
  • 10 percent admitted disliking receiving friend requests

As the results imply above, a vast majority of people seem to be on Facebook only because of the social pressure to keep up and not miss out on social events or offend people. They like keeping in touch, but the pressure to be “inventive and entertaining,” speak appropriately to different types of friends, and accept people as friends they may not actually want is somewhat stressful. Some even experience stress due to envy of the happy-looking lives of friends on Facebook.

“Like gambling, Facebook keeps users in a neurotic limbo, not knowing whether they should hang on in there just in case they miss out on something good,” said Dr. Charles.

It should be noted that this study has a very small (200) survey group. 72.6 percent of participants were female and 27.4 percent were male. The average age was 30.4. The results can hardly be called scientific proof of anything, but they are an interesting glimpse at the underlying social structures that keep Facebook growing so quickly. Like a drug, people join Facebook out of peer pressure and often can’t stop using it later even after it’s no longer fun anymore. Some have even called Facebook more addictive than sex.

Does Facebook stress you out?

Editors' Recommendations

Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
All the reasons I’m excited (and worried) for Apple’s Reality Pro headset
A woman wearing a virtual reality headset against an orange background.

Apple is set to launch its Reality Pro headset -- its most anticipated new product in years -- at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5. I’m excited to see what the Cupertino firm unveils on stage, and there are plenty of reasons to hope that the device will revolutionize the industry.

But there are also things I’m deeply worried about with the Reality Pro, and there’s more than a slight chance that it could be an abject failure. Which outcome is more likely? Well, that depends on what Apple reveals to the world at WWDC. Let’s see what could go right -- and absolutely wrong -- with the Reality Pro.
Apple has waited for the right time

Read more
ChatGPT: How to use the AI chatbot that’s changing everything
ChatGPT app running on an iPhone.

ChatGPT has continued to dazzle the internet with AI-generated content, morphing from a novel chatbot into a piece of technology that is driving the next era of innovation. Not everyone's on board yet, though, and you're probably wondering: What's ChatGPT all about?

Made by OpenAI, well-known for having developed the text-to-image generator DALL-E, ChatGPT is currently available for anyone to try out for free, now with even a free iOS app being launched. Here's what ChatGPT is, how to use it, and how it could change the future of the internet.

Read more
This 38-inch curved Alienware QHD monitor is $450 off right now
The Alienware QD-OLED monitor in front of a window.

Dell has one of the best monitor deals around for gamers who want to be fully immersed in the experience. Today, you can buy a Alienware 38 Curved Gaming Monitor for $900 with a saving of $450 off the regular price of $1,350. A premium product, this is a monitor that's going to last you a long time to come. If you want the ultimate gaming experience and already have the rig to support such performance, this is the one for you. Here's all you need to know or you can tap the buy button below to get straight to making a purchase.

Why you should buy the Alienware 38 Curved Gaming Monitor
The best curved gaming monitors provide a fantastically immersive experience. With the Alienware 38 Curved Gaming Monitor, you get a native QHD resolution of 3840 x 1600 at 144Hz when connected via DisplayPort or 85Hz when connected via HDMI. A true 1ms gray to gray response time in extreme mode helps cut down on motion blur issues while there's a color gamut of 130.6% sRGB and 95% DCI-P3. The IPS panel is also DisplayHDR 600 capable and there's color support for up to 1.07 billion colors. Nvidia G-Sync Ultimate certification also helps for anyone with the relevant graphics card.

Read more