One of the most interesting findings of the study was the correlation between Facebook usage and self-esteem.
..."Results showed that Facebook usage had a significant negative relationship with self-esteem," researchers said in the report. "In other words, the results indicated that users who spend more time on Facebook have lower self-esteem."
But take those results with a grain of salt. The researchers point out that when they "entered the control variables gender, age, education and income, the relationship between Facebook usage and self-esteem was not significant."
The main difference was between genders. Women tilted the scale in the usage to lowered self-esteem correlation. Meaning, prolonged Facebook usage tended to make women feel less happy and content with their lives. Men, however, were not affected to the same degree.
One of the theories behind the discontentment could be the finding that women tended to write more about their thoughts and feeling, while men spent more time provoking others.
The authors also postulated that "skewed comparison with a biased source of information may in turn impact Facebook users' self-esteem and how they feel."
The full details and a copy of the study can be found at the Gothenburg Research Institute online...
No comments:
Post a Comment