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Something to 'Dislike' About Facebook

by KREX News Room
by Danielle Kreutter

Story Created: Nov 28, 2012 at 10:06 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 29, 2012 at 8:29 AM MDT

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- The website created to bring us closer together may be making some feel isolated.

A recent study out of the University of Edinburgh Business School says the more types of friends you have on Facebook, the more stressed out you may be.

For example, having friends like parents and bosses may increase anxiety when you're deciding what information to post or not post.

Michael Costello's job is to help people through their problems. He's a therapist with the Alpha Center. He says lately, he's noticed a trend.

"You see quite a few people in the office who will come in with either relationship problems or sometimes complaints about their emotional state that tie directly to their interaction with other people on Facebook," said Costello.

With a billion people using Facebook monthly, it's no surprise the website is creeping into many people's personal lives.

"I know what to put out, and I know what not to put out," said Maggie Schufreider, a sophomore at Colorado Mesa University.

Schufreider has seen her types of Facebook friends change over the years.

"Both my parents and my stepmom have Facebook. It's a little weird at first because that's kind of how they check up on you," she said.

Costello says that may add stress, tension and even make some people paranoid about what they post on the website.

"What might my boss think? What might my partner think? A lot of stress that gets created because of a lot of access to information, which without social media would be a lot more private," he said.

For Schufreider, it's all about having good judgment.

"If there's a picture of you at a party, maybe you should take that off. Just be smart about it," she said.

It may seem simple, but if you find yourself stressed out due to social media, the best thing to do is log off.

"When they reduce the amount of time they spend online, their aggressive feelings decrease, their general negative emotional feelings decrease and their overall life satisfaction increases," said Costello.

Costello also suggests reviewing any privacy settings on social websites, and if you are still uncomfortable, you may want to find different ways of sending messages and pictures that are less public.


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