Positive reaction to one’s Facebook activity can bring as much happiness as marriage or having a baby, according to a new study.
The study, which sampled 1,910 Facebook users across 91 countries andundertaken by Carnegie Mellon University, found that users can be given a significant boost in mood and self esteem when their friends engaged positively with their posts.
The positive boost was explicitly linked to actions such as personalised posts and comments and did not include simpler reactions such as “likes” and “reactions.”
The study discovered that just 60 comments from friends and family can provide a significant mood boost, even equal to that of positive life events such as marriage and having children.
Dr. Moira Burke, the co-author of the study, said, “We’re not talking about anything that’s particularly labour-intensive. This can be a comment that’s just a sentence or two.”
“The important thing is that someone such as a close friend takes the time to personalise it. The content may be uplifting, and the mere act of communication reminds recipients of the meaningful relationships in their lives. They’re reminded of the people they care about in their lives,” she continued.
The findings contradict the perceived notion that using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can make people feel lonely, isolated, and depressed.
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