Does Facebook make us sad?

http://news.yahoo.com/feeling-sad-facebook-could-cause-180318638--abc-news.html

I'm inclined to agree. I avoid Facebook because of this very reason.

I sort of agree. I often feel that my friends are having much more fun than I am in life. I always see them going to parties, and I think, I should be there. But I'm not.

I've found that I've just kind of naturally lapsed into not going onto Facebook anymore. I mean, seriously, you could delete my Facebook and I probably wouldn't notice for a day or two, until I realized that my phone wasn't sending me random people's statuses on the live feed it has...

I don't feel that way. It makes me feel happier, because I get to engage in 100 comment conversations with friends on a status message.

I'd say annoyed more than sad, due to a certain friend who has yet to learn that just because a thought enters your mind does not mean you should post it. And oy, the smug "awareness raising" chain statuses that end with some variant of "Most people won't be brave enough to repost this!!! Will YOU?"

I do enjoy film nerd conversations that come up among friends though, those make me happy.

Don't worry about parties, most are shit anyways.

Especially for me

Pictures others post on Facebook =/= Facebook itself. The story is a tad misleading.

Let's be honest, if you're sad when you see other people hanging out with each other and having fun, it won't be limited to Facebook and it won't be solved if Facebook is utterly destroyed. You just need to socialize more.

That survey's results might have something to do with the fact that people who spend all their time on the internet usually aren't the happiest people in the world.

I do like the occasional long convos in the comments sections, though.

That is true. I spend a lot of time on the internet, and I'm always happier when I'm not, and yet...

@Leradny

It kind of would actually. I never see it in real life to the degree I see it on facebook.

Well, that's a good reason to get off Facebook, but Facebook itself is not the reason you're sad.

If you're sad about people having fun without you, you'd have the same problem if you overheard people you work/go to class with talking about awesome parties which you weren't invited to. Or if you ate dinner at rush hour in a restaurant that has tables on an open floor, or went to a bar on Friday, because you will see people talking to each other and there will be parties every now and then.

Again, the solution is to get out more.

Or possibly talk to someone about social anxiety/depression.

edited 21st Jan '12 11:36:15 AM by Leradny

Of course, Facebook puts it all in one convenient place.

Facebook doesn't make me particularly sad. I don't really use it that much, but I don't oppose its existence. When I do use it, I usually use it too keep in touch with my college friends during long breaks, so it can be useful. As for the drama, it's definitely annoying, but I tend to ignore it if I see any.

This really is a case where if one have a problem with Facebook, it is usually a problem with oneself which needs to get fixed. In most cases we can't tell Facebook or even other users "Stop posting pictures of exciting Friday night parties because it makes us sad" We need to change the reaction we have to it somehow.

By inviting ourselves to those parties.

Well, which kind of 'sad' are we talking about...?

I don't really use it because I consider the apparent obsessiveness of most users to be very 'sad' indeed. I think I checked my page last week, but it may have been longer than that.

If Myface+ users feel sad, maybe they should stop arsing about online all day and go and get some sunshine, fresh air and exercise? Meet people, do stuff etc.? Endorphins and vitamin D: you can't get them down your interweb connection.

Incidentally, parties are awesome, but only once I show up.

edited 21st Jan '12 11:45:02 AM by InverurieJones

The thing on Facebook that makes me the most depressed is seeing $GIRLILIKE having a blast with a circle of friends I don't know, while hearing her talk about burning out on the circle of friends I do know.

On the other hand, this gives credence to the idea that a lot of her time spent in the circle of friends we share was mainly to spend time with me.

Also I used to get depressed when girls I had crushes on got into relationships, but when my biggest crush from high school got married I pretty much got inoculated from that ever after.

Seeing friends happy makes you sad? News to me.

I agree with Lera. If seeing pictures of other people being happy makes you sad, you either need to:

a) Go out and have fun yourself b) Be less competetive about your social life c) Stop being a jealous jerk

I don't use it regularly, so I don't have this problem.

You guys might be making too many assumptions about these people. We don't really know their scenarios. I don't think it's right to just make armchair psychology statements, and assume we know best.

What else are we supposed to think when we hear "Friends' Happy Pictures Make You Sad"? That it's the friend's fault for being happy in front of someone who gets sad at other people's enjoyment? The friends, in all likelihood, don't even know that people looking at their pictures react sadly.

I mean, if the friends were jackasses and intentionally kept someone out of the loop, that would be different. But it's also uncommon enough for us to be unable to make assumptions there, either.

I remember when I found Facebook, I was all hyper about finding people that I hadn't seen or heard from in years. That was in 2009, when I was still holding out hope that my old HS crush would re-enter my life, and so anything related to high school was exciting.

Now, in 2012, I hardy ever use Facebook since I usually hear family news from my Mom, and because most of those from HS? I never speak to them. We've moved on, really, and so there's not much point.