Study On Effects Of Social Networking

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- More than 1.5 billion people belong to Facebook, and about 700 million log on each day. If you're one of them, you may not "like" recent news about the effects of social networking. Facebook can make people feel worse about themselves.

According to a fascinating study, the more often people logged on, the more likely they reported feeling unhappy in any given moment over the course of the two-week study, frequent Facebook users also felt increasingly dissatisfied with their lives.  There is one obvious problem: the hours you spend updating your profile or scrolling through your news feed leave you less time for exercise. Since physical activity boosts your mood and improves your outlook, staying sedentary alone may spark sadness. The other is that many people put only the best part of their lives on Facebook and a few hours scrolling through your friends post may make you inadequate because they do not always measure reality.