Dumping Facebook makes people happier: study
13 Nov 2015
You might well be addicted to it, but quitting Facebook would actually make you happy, suggests a new study done by Denmark-based think tank Happiness Research Institute.
The study enrolled 1,095 Danish volunteers, of whom 94 per cent said they visited Facebook as part of a daily routine, and divided them into two groups.
Half of them carried on using Facebook as usual whereas the rest spent their time away from the social network.
After a week, 88 per cent of those who had given up Facebook said they felt "happy", compared with 81 per cent of those who had still been checking into their News Feed on a regular basis.
Those who had abstained from Facebook also reported feeling more enthusiastic, less lonely, less worried and more decisive, the study found.
They spent more time seeing family and friends face-to-face and said they found it easier to concentrate too.
Those are a serious set of benefits to taking some time away from the social network's apps and websites.
One of the authors of the study said, ''Instead of focusing on what we actually need, we have an unfortunate tendency to focus on what other people have.''
The researchers ascribe anxiety associated with Facebook use to envy at other people's lives as they are seen enjoying albeit in edited highlights.
According to Meik Wiking, chief executive of the Happiness Research Institute, Facebook is a "constant bombardment of everyone else's great news".
"After a few days, I noticed my to-do list was getting done faster than normal as I spent my time more productively. I also felt a sort of calmness from not being confronted by Facebook all the time," Sophie Anne Dornoy, 35, one of the volunteers was reported as saying.
Browsing Facebook has become a daily activity for hundreds of millions of people. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that Facebook use can lead to symptoms of depression, if the social networking site triggers feelings of envy among its users. (See: If Facebook use causes envy, depression could follow).
