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Research on Facebook

Posted on 06/05/2014 12:23:00 PM

Love Facebook? Hate it? This is a great little article on how Facebook has changed social life in the past decade, and shares 10 social research studies about how Facebook affects us. 

 

One of the things I liked about this article at Greater Good is how much CBT really relates. For example, one study was about the "likes" one gets.  The article states, "When you post a status update, how disappointed are you if no one 'likes' it or comments on it? One study showed that the importance people placed on receiving comments about their status updates predicted lower levels of self-esteem, which then predicted lower feelings of belongingness." What sort of distorted thoughts might you have if you feel worse about yourself if not 'enough' people like your post? 

 

Another CBT topic was about comparisons.  We tend to compare ourselves to people we don't personally know 'in real life'.  With those people, we tend to judge ourselves less fortunate, less attractive, less popular, etc. to people we truly know nothing about! How's that for stinkin' thinkin'? 

 

The article also talks about having healthy boundaries--we don't need to share all, and especially not the negative content.

 

If you find that getting on Facebook makes you feel stressed or disheartened, definitely check out this article. Then, use your CBT skills to challenge your cognitive distortions. 

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