Study Reveals Positive And Negative Effects Of Quitting Facebook
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Are you addicted to Facebook? Whether its posting a status update, or seeing what your friends are up to, the social media platform has become a habit for many.
So what happens if you quit that habit?
You've likely known someone who has made a grand proclamation, maybe even through a post, saying that they are leaving Facebook. And then a few weeks or months later, there they are, right back on your feed.
Maybe they succumbed to FOMO -- or the fear of missing out -- or maybe they're addicted.
"I think a lot of people get addicted to watching the videos and that sort of thing," Lauren Ranji, of Malvern, said.
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This week, the most comprehensive study to date on the effects of disconnecting from Facebook was released by researchers at Stanford and NYU.
The study followed nearly 3,000 Facebook users who deactivated their accounts for four weeks.
"I haven't used Facebook in like 10 years," Jaheal Christmas, of Philadelphia, said.
Christmas jumped ship early and recently also left Instagram.
"Initially, I totally felt like I was missing out, like on my birthday," Alex Zeiger, of Havertown, said. "I wanted to log back on so people could wish me a happy birthday."
According to the study, those who deactivated Facebook experienced the following during the four-week trial:
"I do feel like I got more time back," Zeiger said. "I feel like when I talk to people, like when I ask them how they are doing, I generally don't know."
And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"Just live your life," Christmas said. "Just live your life. Just go back to the old days. That's it!"
Remember, Facebook and Instagram have launched a tool on the dashboard where you can keep track of how much time you spend on you feed.