Comparing yourself to Facebook friends is a recipe for depression
Comparison is the thief of joy, as Theodore Roosevelt said, and new research finds you’re more likely to lose your joy when your comparisons take place online.
A review of studies on social media and depression found that comparing yourself to others on Facebook is more likely to leave you feeling depressed than when you do so offline.
The findings suggest a complex relationship between depression and sites such as Facebook, with social media-linked depression potentially stemming from not only what people do online but also how their experiences linger with them afterward.
For the review, which published this month, Lancaster University researchers analyzed studies from 14 countries entailing 35,000 participants between ages 15 and 88. Their findings highlighted the link between depression and “rumination,” that all-too-familiar practice of rolling over online experiences in our mind long after we’ve logged off.
Frequently posting on Facebook was linked to increased rumination and depression. So was negatively comparing one’s self to others on the site. Unsurprisingly, accepting your ex’s friend request on Facebook can also lead to rumination, the review found.
Female Facebook users were more likely to become depressed, as were users with neurotic personalities, researchers said.
Facebook users who frequently post negative status updates heighten their risk of depression. Frequently posting positive statuses, however, makes one ruminate less, they found. Location tagging, oddly enough, was found to help, too.
Pinning the direct cause of any depression on Facebook proves tricky, though. While posting sad status updates does put you more at risk for depression, lead researcher David Baker told Broadly, that doesn’t prove Facebook caused it.
Given the topic’s complexity, researchers concluded that the idea of “Facebook depression”—a term coined by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2011—“may be over-simplistic.” They even stressed that online spaces could provide resources and support for those dealing with mental health issues.
But as technology changes rapidly, so do our reactions to it. As new social media sites pop up and others fade away, further research on how the platforms affect their 1.8 billion users worldwide will be needed, the review said.
Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner