In the past decade, Facebook usage has risen dramatically, changing the way people relate, communicate, and live. Although a variety of social media sites exist, Facebook  remains the largest social media network with 2.958 billion monthly active users (Statista, 2023). However, while Facebook has grown in popularity, researchers and practitioners have begun expressing concerns about its impact on mental health.

The early optimism about its potential benefits (Gentile, Twenge, Freeman, & Campbell, 2012; Gonzales & Hancock, 2011) has given way to widespread concern about its possible negative consequences over users’ quality of life and emotional well-being (Yoon, Kleinman, Mertz & Brannick, 2019). Recently, the Netflix’s documentary The Social Dilemma presented a dystopian picture of social media, showing how its pervasive design can affect user’s behaviors, emotion, and thoughts. It is therefore essential to understand what the potential psychological effects of using Facebook are on the general population. Specifically, there exists ample literature investigating the emotional consequences of Facebook use on both adults and adolescents. 

Nowadays, while further research is necessary, the negative effects of the excessive use of Facebook have been well documented for a variety of psychological constructs:

1) Self-esteem

The exposure to social media is usually associated with changes in self-evaluation (which includes self-esteem) due to social comparison processes and their consequences. Authors like Vogel (Vogel, Rose, Roberts & Eckes, 2014) revealed that Facebook use is linked to lower self-esteem in adults, due to an increased exposure to upward social comparisons.

2) Depression and suicidal tendencies

Several studies have shown that as time spent on Facebook increases, depressive symptoms can also increase.  For instance, Hansen (2017) observed that individuals with depressive symptoms tend to engage in increased Facebook activity, including more frequent posting and documenting of life events.

The current literature suggests that Facebook can be associated with a depressive mood in high school (Pantic et al., 2012) and undergraduate students (Labrague, 2014; Steers, Wickham, & Acitelli, 2014; Yoon et al., 2019), as well as in adults (Yoon et al., 2019). It is also interesting to mention that some scientific evidence suggests that users who gave up Facebook reported fewer depressive symptoms than those still using it (Tromholt, 2016). In a similar way, recent studies conducted with adults showed that abstaining from Facebook for four weeks (Allcott et al., 2020) or just one week (Lambert et al., 2022) has a positive impact on users’ subjective wellbeing and slightly reduces depression and anxiety.

There are also studies that provide indirect links between Facebook use and depression. Thus, for example, an excessive use of Facebook has been associated with high levels of envy, which in turn predicts depression (Tandoc, Ferrucci, & Duffy, 2015; Verduyn et al., 2015). The time spent on Facebook has also been associated with social loneliness and social avoidance in college students (Lemieux, Lajoie & Trainor, 2013) and adults (Song et al., 2014). All in all, these findings suggest that cognitive processes can influence the relationship between Facebook usage and depression.

Some researchers have gone so far as to suggest that Facebook creates a new phenomenon called “Facebook depression” (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Essentially, spending too much time on Facebook can lead to increased depressive symptoms, which are in turn tied to a variety of unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, among others (Yuen et al., 2018). The specialized literature has already informed of the emerging phenomenon of cybersuicide, a term that refers to the use of the Internet and social media for matters related to suicide and its ideation (Narayan, Das, Das & Bhandari, 2019). For instance, Spitzer et al. (2023) found that college students who engaged in negative social comparison with their peers on Facebook and Instagram were more likely to experience suicidal ideation. Additionally, Marciano et al. (2023) identified a positive association between Facebook use and suicidality in the LGBTQ community, particularly among individuals dissatisfied with their bodies.

Nonetheless, given the initial stage of this research, a comprehensive investigation into the relationship between Facebook usage and suicidal tendencies should be further examined in the future.

3) Stress and anxiety

The use of Facebook can also increase user’s stress levels, produce anxiety, and negatively affect their mood. 

Recent research studies have shown that time spent on Facebook can provoke a negative emotional state in the general population (Burke, Marlow, & Lento, 2010; Hansen, 2017; Ho, 2021; Krasnova, Wenninger, Widjaja & Bruxmann, 2013). In particular, it is interesting to mention that studies have found a link between the use of Facebook and high levels of stress in new parents (Bartholomew, Schoppe-Sullivan, Glassman, Kamp Dush, & Sullivan, 2012), mothers (Padoa, Berle & Roberts, 2018), college students (Hansen, 2017) and undergraduate students (Labrague, 2014). Furthermore, Awao et al. (2022) observed that heightened Facebook usage during the pandemic was linked to increased levels of cumulative Covid-19–related stress appraisals and elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms in adults.

Interestingly, one study using a longitudinal daily diary method found that the more participants used Facebook, the more negative mood they later felt (Kross et al., 2013). In a similar way, in a study conducted with 312 college students, it was found that those who spent 20 minutes passively browsing Facebook, compared to those who spent time simply browsing the Internet, reported worsened mood (Yuen et al., 2018). According to some authors, the mood decline mainly occurs because users feel they wasted time and engaged in something that was only a little meaningful by being active on Facebook (Sagioglou, & Greitemeyer, 2014). 

Finally, it is important to note that not just the time spent on Facebook but also the number of Facebook friends have been connected to high levels of cortisol levels in adolescents, which is a good indicator of anxiety and stress (Morin-Major et al., 2016). These results point towards that more friends on Facebook can lead to a worse mood.

Taken together, these findings highlight the importance of research on social media phenomena such as Facebook. Although some studies have shown that Facebook has positive psychological benefits such as the perceived emotional and social support from others (Akbulut & Günüç, 2012; Gilmour et al., 2022; Zayts-Spence et al., 2023); the reduced feelings of isolation (Asante & Nyarko, 2014) or a greater health and wellness satisfaction (Asbury & Hall, 2013), there are also some serious disadvantages that must be considered such an increased envy, a low self-esteem, a lowered life satisfaction or a dampened mood. Additionally, the improper use of Facebook can exacerbate preexisting mental health vulnerabilities, such as anxiety and depression (Jones, 2023) or psychosis proneness (Fekih-Romdhane et al., 2023).

It is for those reasons that recognized psychologists like Jelena Kecmanovic, an adjunct professor of psychology at Georgetown University, identified some recommendations to protect mental health from the use of services like Facebook:
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Relax VR helps people relax using Virtual Reality. We do this by combining exposure to natural VR scenes, guided meditations, essential oils, and binaural beats music.

Since the main aim of Relax VR is to help people improve their emotional wellbeing and quality of life, given the above-mentioned reasons, in 2021 we decided to shut down our Facebook and Instagram social media accounts.

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See Also: The Effects of Instagram, YouTube and TikTok on Mental Health

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References:

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