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The more Facebook friends people have , the more likely they are to feel stressed out by the site, according to a new study by Scottish researchers.
Psychologists from Edinburgh Napier University surveyed 200 students on their use of Facebook, and found that a for a significant number of users the negative effect of the social network outweighed the benefits of staying in touch with friends and family.
Dr-Kathy-Charles “The results threw up a number of paradoxes,” said Dr Kathy Charles, who led the study. “For instance, although there is great pressure to be on Facebook there is also considerable ambivalence amongst users about its benefits.”
“Our data also suggests that there is a significant minority of users who experience considerable Facebook-related anxiety, with only very modest or tenuous rewards.And we found it was actually those with the most contacts, those who had invested the most time in the site, who were the ones most likely to be stressed.”
Highlights of the study include:
*12 percent of respondents said that Facebook made them feel anxious. Of these, respondents had an average of 117 'friends' each. The remaining 88% of respondents, who said that Facebook did not make them feel anxious, had an average of 75 'friends' each.
*63 percent delayed replying to friend requests
*32 percent said rejecting friend requests led to feelings of guilt and discomfort
*10 percent admitted disliking receiving friend requests
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