Today, in news that confirms everything you already know: Facebook will make you miserable. And that's a scientific fact.
According to the results of a study conducted by two German universities, Facebook, the world's largest social network, is rampant with envy, with one in three users feeling worse and more dissatisfied with their lives after visiting the site, Reuters reported. People who browsed without contributing to the site were the most affected, researchers said.
Facebook might allow users to stay connected in a way that was previously unimaginable, and afford people a wealth of information, but the report says that it also produces a "basis for social comparison and envy on an unprecedented scale."
"We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry," researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin's Humboldt University told Reuters.
"From our observations some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site," said Krasnova.
Vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment, Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt's Technical University found, with more than 50 percent of incidents caused by travel photos on Facebook.
In second place: social interaction. Seeing how other users interact with one another on the site - the Internet version of "having fun" - was the second most common cause of envy among users, as they could compare just how many birthday greetings they received to those of Facebook friends, and how many "likes" or comments photos and postings received.
"Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users mainly envying happiness of others, the way others spend their vacations and socialize," the researchers said in the report "Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users' Life Satisfaction?" released on Tuesday.
"The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users' life satisfaction."
The study further found that users aged in their mid-30s were the most likely to envy family happiness, while women were the most likely to envy physical attractiveness.
These feelings of envy prompted some users to compensate their insecurity by boasting more about their own achievements to portray themselves in a more positive light.
The study found men to post the most self-promotional content on Facebook to inform other users of their accomplishments, while women stressed about their good looks and social lives the most.
Researchers based their results on two studies of 600 people. The first study examined the scale, scope, and nature of envy incidents fueled by Facebook and life satisfaction.
The respondents in both studies were German, but researchers expect the findings to hold internationally - as envy is a universal feeling - and could possibly impact Facebook usage.
"From a provider's perspective, our findings signal that users frequently perceive Facebook as a stressful environment, which may, in the long-run, endanger platform sustainability," the researchers concluded.
The study is to be presented at a conference on information systems in Germany in February, according to Reuters.
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