Two separate studies have emerged pointing to the conclusion that for all its popularity, Facebook is actually making people unhappy.
The first study, conducted by researchers from New Zealand's University of Canterbury, sought to determine how people felt about the various activities that they spent time on during the day. Researcher Carsten Grimm used a technique known as "experience sampling," sending text messages to people to ask what they were doing and how they ranked the activity in terms of pleasure, engagement, meaningfulness and happiness.
"I texted people three times a day over a week and the response rate was really high," Grimm said. "People replied to on average 97 percent of all text-messages, and texts were sent at random times, so there is a really rich sample of everyday life to look at."
Spending time on Facebook ranked among the 10 worst activities in terms of unpleasantness and lack of engagement. It was ranked as the least meaningful activity and the one that made people the second-most unhappy, surpassed only by recovering from illness.
