Do you often find yourself congratulating your friends on Facebook for accomplishments they have achieved? If so, there’s probably nothing wrong with that. In fact, it shows a happy sign of support for people you admire or have genuine respect for.
But, do you always believe the hype? If so, researchers suggest you be cautious of the quality and more importantly, the quantity of your friends.
Everything that glitters is not gold, and the truth be told, many people sugarcoat the truth to make themselves look good. They leave out important details to make their story sound better than what it really is. As a result, having a large number of friends who are full of themselves can lower your self-esteem, and take a toll on your mental health.
According to three new studies, Facebook provides a place for people to indulge in self-destructive behavior, such as trumpeting their own weaknesses or comparing their achievements with those of others. It offers an all-too-alluring medium for social comparison and ill-advised status updates. And, while adding friends on the social networking site can make people feel cheery and connected, having too many friends may not be such a good thing. That is, if you’re constantly trying to keep up with who’s doing what. Or, if you read into facts that are pure fiction.
One study also suggests that spending too much time on social networking sites is a sign of loneliness and depression. So, keep that in mind when you see friends updating their status' all day and night. As the study further suggests, many people use the social platform to escape the reality of their real lives and create a world for themselves that ultimately does not exist.
"At the end of the day, have more friends, there's no problem with that. Just be sure to remember that when you start feeling crappy about your life, think about the fact that you have a large number of friends and that increases your probability of viewing more ostentatious information," says one researcher. You're perfectly normal. At some point, if you don't let the power of social networking take control, you will realize, "The problem is not you, it's them."
Source: Vitals on MSNBC.com
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