Want to get happier? Log off social media...!
10/11/15 23:19
The key to happiness may be as simple as logging off Facebook for a week, a new Danish study has found.
Researchers at The Happiness Institute tested how social media affected users’ general happiness. A total of 1,095 Facebook users were asked to evaluate their overall life satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10 based on different factors, such as how happy they were, how much they enjoyed life, whether they felt worried or sad, and if they were enthusiastic or decisive. Ninety-four percent confessed to logging on to Facebook at least once a day. After the evaluation, half of the group was asked to avoid going on Facebook for a week, while the other half was told to continue with their lives as normal.
A week later, the participants’ life satisfaction was once again measured. Results revealed those who hadn’t given up Facebook experienced a slight increase in their overall happiness, from an average happiness rating of 7.67 to 7.75. However, this group was also 55 percent more likely to feel stressed. The group that had given up social media, on the other hand, experienced a much more significant increase in happiness — their happiness rating jumped from 7.56 to 8.12.
Participants who gave up Facebook also experienced an increase in social activity and satisfaction with their social lives. And when they were asked about their moods on the last day of the experiment, they reported feeling happier and less sad than the group that had kept Facebook. Overall, the group without Facebook was 18 percent more likely to feel present and in the moment.
Read more…
Researchers at The Happiness Institute tested how social media affected users’ general happiness. A total of 1,095 Facebook users were asked to evaluate their overall life satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 10 based on different factors, such as how happy they were, how much they enjoyed life, whether they felt worried or sad, and if they were enthusiastic or decisive. Ninety-four percent confessed to logging on to Facebook at least once a day. After the evaluation, half of the group was asked to avoid going on Facebook for a week, while the other half was told to continue with their lives as normal.
A week later, the participants’ life satisfaction was once again measured. Results revealed those who hadn’t given up Facebook experienced a slight increase in their overall happiness, from an average happiness rating of 7.67 to 7.75. However, this group was also 55 percent more likely to feel stressed. The group that had given up social media, on the other hand, experienced a much more significant increase in happiness — their happiness rating jumped from 7.56 to 8.12.
Participants who gave up Facebook also experienced an increase in social activity and satisfaction with their social lives. And when they were asked about their moods on the last day of the experiment, they reported feeling happier and less sad than the group that had kept Facebook. Overall, the group without Facebook was 18 percent more likely to feel present and in the moment.
Read more…