Study: Using Facebook Could Distort Perception Of Time
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new study reveals that using Facebook could distort users' perception of time.
Medical News Today reports study authors Lazaros Gonidis and Dr. Dinkar Sharma, of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, wanted to determine how the internet and the popular social media site impacts time perception. They believe the findings could have important implications for addiction research.
The study was conducted of 44 adults who were presented with 20 images. Five of those images were Facebook related, five associated with the internet, and 10 were generic control images, according to Medical News Today.
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The images were shown to the study participants for different lengths of time, and after seeing them, they were asked if they had seen the image for short or long periods of time.
Researchers said the study subjects were more likely to underestimate the amount of time they spent viewing images related to Facebook and the internet, compared to the generic images. Researchers added that the images related to Facebook altered time perception the greatest.
The study shows that the internet and Facebook could modify users' attention process.
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"We found evidence that Internet- and Facebook-related stimuli can distort time perception due to attention – and arousal-related mechanisms," the study says, according to Medical News Today.
The study was published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.