SPENDING TOO LONG on Facebook can lead to some people becoming depressed by comparing their lives to their peers’.

That is the finding of researchers at the University of Houston, who say that social comparison paired with the amount of time spent on Facebook may be linked to depressive symptoms.

Mai-Ly Steers of the university makes the finding in her article “Seeing Everyone Else’s Highlight Reels: How Facebook Usage is Linked to Depressive Symptoms”, published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.

Steers conducted two studies to investigate how social comparison to peers on Facebook might impact users’ psychological health. Both studies provide evidence that Facebook users felt depressed when comparing themselves to others.

“It doesn’t mean Facebook causes depression, but that depressed feelings and lots of time on Facebook and comparing oneself to others tend to go hand in hand,” said Steers.

The first study found an association between time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms for both genders.

The concept of social comparison is not new. In fact, it has been studied in face-to-face contexts since the 1950’s. However, engaging in social comparisons on on-line social media sites may make people feel even worse.

“One danger is that Facebook often gives us information about our friends that we are not normally privy to, which gives us even more opportunities to socially compare,” Steers said.

“This research and previous research indicates the act of socially comparing oneself to others is related to long-term destructive emotions.”

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