Facebook Makes Users Unhappy, Study Finds

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) –  For most of us, scrolling through Facebook has become something that’s inextricably woven into our regular days as part of our daily routine.

But a new study has found that Facebook negatively impacts our happiness. On top of that, the study finds that the social network in no way has replaced face-to-face interaction, which positively impacts our happiness.

The study in the American Journal of Epidemiology used data from 5,000 adults across three years (2013-15) looking for links between Facebook use and users’ mental health, physical health, and general well-being.

“Our results showed that overall, the use of Facebook was negatively associated with well-being,” the study read.

Their results found that on every 1 percent increase in likes, link clicks and status update, the users’ self-reported mental health dropped between five to eight percent.

“The negative associations of Facebook use were comparable to or greater in magnitude than the positive impact of offline interactions, which suggests a possible trade-off between offline and online relationships,” the study reads.

The study took these negative Facebook findings and suggested that they are “comparable or even greater” than the positive effects human, face-to-face interaction has on us.