Taking a mere five-day break from Facebook will lower your physiological stress levels, researchers claim

By Christian Jarrett Does the prospect of taking a “Facebook holiday” fill you with dread as you picture a life of social isolation, or does it sound like an appealing and refreshing chance to change priorities? A new paper in the Journal of Social Psychology has investigated the psychological effects of taking time off from using Facebook. Given that Facebook helps keep us connected but can also expose us to many social stressors, like envy and gossip, the researchers, led by Eric Vanman at the University of Queensland, expected to find a Facebook break would be associated with a drop in life-satisfaction, but also a reduction in stress levels. Their findings are largely in line with their predictions “[and] consistent with the general ambivalent feelings that may typify most active users about Facebook”. However, the study also features ambiguities and limitations that may leave sceptical readers unconvinced. Vanman and his colleagues invited 138 active Facebook users (they averaged 2.8 hours daily use) to the psych lab where they provided a saliva cortisol sample and completed psychological questionnaires tapping their Facebook use, life-satisfaction, stress, mood and loneliness. This initial data showed that more active Facebook users reported higher life-satisfaction and less loneliness. Critically, half of the participants learned at this time that they would be required to take a five-day hiatus from Facebook (they knew from the study advert th...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Emotion Facebook Mental health Source Type: blogs