Facebook and Twitter Comments and Posts Negatively Affect Your Well-being: Study

Negative posts on comments on Facebook and social media can affect the mental well-being of people, says a study.

A past research found that Facebook and social media threaten personal relations and cause disturbances in marriages. A new study by Spanish experts warns offensive statements and remarks on sexuality, gender and misogynistic contents lower self-esteem and can lead  to the development of severe diffidence.

 People exposed to negative content and cyber bullying fall prey to depressive symptoms and mental conditions as they are vastly dependant on social media for acceptance and communication.

The study by the Sapienza University in Rome and the Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg looked at over 50,000 Italians to note their level of personal well-being, happiness and usage of social media. It was observed that majority of participants stayed in touch with close ones on facebook and in venues that involved strangers, they only interacted in sites where they had access to comments. Women users or sexual minorities were particularly targeted with offensive material than men.

"There is a tendency for people to assume that their own opinions, beliefs, preferences, values, and habits are 'normal' and that others also think the same way that they do," write the authors in the research, reports  Think Progress.

"In online platforms, people are surrounded with preference types they dislike (e.g. a racist person may find out that most people appreciate ethnic diversity, or vise versa)."

The authors believe media isa  'powerful source of frustration and distrust' as most of the people who pass prejudiced statements are invisible and "careless of the risk of offending others in a conversation." Moreover, many of the Facebook and social media users have a tendency to express their views and opinions in the most demeaning and insulting way. All these behaviors abrade people's trust  and also deeply affect their self-image. Findings of past research suggest social trust is the strongest indicator of individual happiness and well-being. Prolonged exposure to bad behavior and online misconduct can have deleterious effects on overall well-being.

However, the study noted that out of all socializing platforms Facebook has more restrictions and control over the statements and content shared by the users.

More information is available online in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review.