Study: Taking A Facebook Detox Can Improve Well-Being
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Ever feel like you need a break from social media? According to a study, a Facebook timeout may do wonders for your well-being.
Researchers did a one week experiment with over 1,000 participants in Denmark.
In the study, they separated the group by having some participants take a break from Facebook, while others kept using it as usual.
It was found that those who took a break reported positive effects on their well-being.
Participants said their life satisfaction increased and their emotions became more positive.
The report's author, Morten Tromholt, writes, "To make things clear, if one is a heavy Facebook user, one should use Facebook less to increase one's well-being."
The study found the positive effects were significantly greater for heavy Facebook users and those who tend to envy others on social media.
Tromholt says this experiment confirms "people's emotional life improves significantly when they quit Facebook for 1 week."
"Millions of hours are spent on Facebook each day. We are surely better connected now than ever before, but is this new connectedness doing any good to our well-being? According to the present study, the answer is no."
The study was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.