I like the comment about some people to boast more than usual and I know that applies to some of my friends on Facebook (and I am guessing that applies to some posters on Clutchfans.) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5054932...ebook-envy-making-you-miserable/#.UP_rpvLVqks Is Facebook envy making you miserable? LONDON (Reuters) - Witnessing friends' vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers. A study conducted jointly by two German universities found rampant envy on Facebook, the world's largest social network that now has over one billion users and has produced an unprecedented platform for social comparison. The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most. "We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry," researcher Hanna Krasnova from the Institute of Information Systems at Berlin's Humboldt University told Reuters. "From our observations some of these people will then leave Facebook or at least reduce their use of the site," said Krasnova, adding to speculation that Facebook could be reaching saturation point in some markets. Researchers from Humboldt University and from Darmstadt's Technical University found vacation photos were the biggest cause of resentment with more than half of envy incidents triggered by holiday snaps on Facebook. Social interaction was the second most common cause of envy as users could compare how many birthday greetings they received to those of their Facebook friends and how many "likes" or comments were made on photos and postings. "Passive following triggers invidious emotions, with users mainly envying happiness of others, the way others spend their vacations and socialize," the researchers said in the report "Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users' Life Satisfaction?" released on Tuesday. "The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users' life satisfaction." They found people aged in their mid-30s were most likely to envy family happiness while women were more likely to envy physical attractiveness. These feelings of envy were found to prompt some users to boast more about their achievements on the site run by Facebook Inc. to portray themselves in a better light. Men were shown to post more self-promotional content on Facebook to let people know about their accomplishments while women stressed their good looks and social lives. The researchers based their findings on two studies involving 600 people with the results to be presented at a conference on information systems in Germany in February. The first study looked at the scale, scope and nature of envy incidents triggered by Facebook and the second at how envy was linked to passive use of Facebook and life satisfaction. The researchers said the respondents in both studies were German but they expected the findings to hold internationally as envy is a universal feeling and possibly impact Facebook usage. "From a provider's perspective, our findings signal that users frequently perceive Facebook as a stressful environment, which may, in the long-run, endanger platform sustainability," the researchers concluded. (Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)
Nothing new there. Self promotion is as old as time. Social Networking is just another avenue for it to take place.
Tbh I don't really give a crap about other ppls posts unless it has true meaning. Party, vacation, dinner pictures aren't worth my time, since I do the same things (but just not document everything electronically). Now if your truly a friend, without the "", and you've said do done something new, inspiring, original, or creative, I'll give you the due props you deserve. I only have 300 fb friends btw, and I'm planning to keep it that number.
Great post, and something I've long suspected. People's happiness is relative to their surroundings. So when one logs onto facebook and sees their friend at the Eiffel Tower or how much money they won in Vegas, they naturally compare that to their own situation and feel like they are not as accomplished or don't have as much fun. This is made worse by the fact that people tend to post more about the good things in their life rather than the bad. The psychological impacts are pretty easy to explain.
Facebook is very depressing. Every time I see what one of my friends scored on Bejeweled Blitz it makes me feel like less of a man.
This is so true, it's sickening. I've been trying to cut back on my usage, but all it takes is a quick glance.
The more I've been away from FACEBOOK and CLUTCHFANS I can't say I've become more "happy", but I seem less easily agigated and distracted by things. Kinda take things more in stride.. I don't ever believe the whole "swinging from chandeliers" put-on people do. I know friends who by seeing their facebooks you'd think they're elite class, but "IRL" though ...... and so what if they can afford a vacation and I can't. Good for them.
Don't let them fool you. The more they post about how wonderful their lives are on Facebook, the more miserable and bored they really are. I've seen this first-hand. It's all a facade. If they were so content with their wonderful lives, they wouldn't feel the need to constantly brag about it on Facebook.
That may apply for some people, but I wouldn't paint with too broad a brush there, buddy. I've seen the exact opposite first-hand.
I make my friend change my password during school days... I get on during holidays due to that. I realized that life is indeed better w/o Facebook. Hopefully I can completely stop using it.
I get annoyed at friends/family who w**** out their kids on Facebook every chance they get. Really? We need to see 10 pics a day of your kid? And people that post food pictures! Why? My god quit spamming Instagram and Facebook with stupid ****.
I never bragged much on Facebook, but for a while I was probably a very annoying Facebook friend. Patheticly, I used to post a lot on Facebook about 5 years ago. 3 or 4 times a day. I posted all sorts of passive-aggresive and smartassy stuff to exalt my political positions and denigrate the positions of my friends. I did this for probably a solid 10 months. Then one day I realized how annoying and useless that was when I saw some of my other friends doing the same thing. Since then, I've put an end to it. Nowadays I don't put anything serious or personal on Facebook, and only log on once every few days. It's now just a place to share odd photos and Tim and Eric clips, as it should be.
LOL @ low self-esteemers... :grin: weak a$$e$. You don't need to tell me you're home or you're at work, that's routine crap... tell me when you're at a strip bar or at a funeral. You don't need to inform me that there's fog... (thank you, Chita Johnson). I'm not envious, I just hate your bragger a$$.
Not talking about those people (of which I am occasionally one), I'm talking about the people who post 4 or 5 times a day about how happy they are. The people referenced in the bolded part of the OP.
