Study: Facebook Can Make Depressed People More Depressed

Late last year, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed that the company knew that its products can be harmful for the mental health of users, yet it has done little to address the problem. To make matters worse, the social media giant was actively exploring ways to get people more hooked on using its platforms. Now, a year later, a new study has been released that backs up the company’s own findings, detailing how Facebook addiction can worsen depression for people who are already depressed.

According to the study authors, this kind of research is important because of the outsized role social media plays in many peoples’ lives — especially young users.

“We have a growing reliance on technology, as we heavily rely on it to effectively live our lives,” study author Soon Li Lee said. “This makes it integral to understand how this reliance affects our well-being, both physically and psychologically. Understanding how it affects those with clinical diagnoses is important as well, as most studies were conducted with healthy young adults.”

Of course, it’s not exactly surprising that using too much Facebook can be harmful. But it’s still distressing how little the company has done to prevent this from happening.




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