The way we react to Facebook shows we’re all horrible people

By Ponta Abadi

Seeing other people post on Facebook about how happy they are makes many of us envious and miserable, according to a study released on Tuesday by German researchers.

It’s one thing to log on to the site and see that someone you hate is studying abroad in Mozambique or that your ex is with an attractive new partner, but we shouldn’t be getting so angry or depressed over the simple fact of other people’s happiness.

According to the study, called “Envy on Facebook: A Hidden Threat to Users’ Life Satisfaction?”(PDF), more than half of the envy and misery incidents of browsing Facebook were caused by seeing vacation photos. The second most common cause? Social interaction — as in seeing that someone got 35 “likes” on their most recent status or 52 “happy birthday” messages on their wall.

Friends, I think it’s time we step back to reevaluate our lives.

We are not defined by the number of people who “like” a picture of us on New Year’s Eve and trips to Rome do not equal a happy life.

The report looked to see if Facebook’s hundreds of millions of users are suffering negative consequences from its services.

The saddest part of all this is what the researchers call a “self-promotion-envy cycle.” We make ourselves seem happier and more popular on our Facebook profiles, which makes others feel sad and lonely, which makes them lie on their profiles about how happy and popular they are and so on.

One in three people felt more dissatisfied with their lives after browsing the site, according to the study. I don’t think this means Facebook is to blame for our feelings of loneliness and jealousy. I think this means we need to quit basing our life expectations on what other people seem to be doing.

Your Facebook friends are traveling the world and smiling in every picture they post? Great, be happy for them. If you want it enough, you’ll travel plenty in your life. For now, just remember that no one’s life is perfect. Even that friend with the perfect bikini body who goes to Cabo every year, damn it.

Read more here: http://dailyemerald.com/2013/01/24/technology-the-way-we-react-to-facebook-shows-were-all-horrible-people/
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