To Your Health: Quitting Facebook makes you happier

Other studies have shown a link between Facebook and symptoms of depression.

November 30, 2015 at 10:06PM
The Facebook Inc. logo is displayed on an Apple Inc. iPad Air in this arranged photograph in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Facebook Inc. is expected to release earnings data on Jan. 29. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
The Facebook Inc. logo. (Evan Ramstad — Bloomberg/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Need a pick-me up? Try taking a Facebook break.

Researchers at the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen studied the moods of 1,095 regular Facebook users over a week's time. They divided participants into two groups: those who kept logging onto Facebook per normal, and those who agreed to quit the site for a week.

The results? Those who used the popular social network were 55 percent more likely to feel stressed. Meanwhile, those on a Facebook furlough reported feeling happier and less sad and lonely than active Facebookers. They also had a significantly higher level of life satisfaction than the other group.

Other studies have shown a link between Facebook and symptoms of depression. A study published in the spring in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found that spending a lot of time on Facebook might lead to depressed feelings because of tendency to make social comparisons. Most people post predominantly positive items, creating an idyllic impression of their lives.

"Social media is a nonstop great news channel," authors of the Happiness Research Institute's study wrote, "a constant flow of edited lives, which distorts our perception of reality."

"To Your Health" offers quick doses of health news several times a week.

about the writer

about the writer

Allie Shah

Deputy editor

Allie Shah is deputy local editor. She previously supervised coverage of K-12 and higher education issues in Minnesota. In her more than 20 year journalism career at the Star Tribune, Shah has reported on topics ranging from education to immigration and health.

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