Facebook lurking 'will ruin your Christmas'

Social media: The study warned against 'lurking' on sites like Facebook
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Chloe Chaplain22 December 2016

Spending your Christmas holidays looking at other people’s celebratory pictures on Facebook is more likely to make you feel miserable than festive, a study has claimed.

Experts have warned that browsing “perfect” family photos of festive events will make you feel envious and discontent.

And they have, in particular, warned against “lurking” on social media – meaning scrolling through posts without interacting with anyone.

The study, by experts at the University of Copenhagen, suggests staying off social media this Christmas to help you have a nicer time.

Social media: Looking at photos posted can "cause feelings of envy"
Shutterstock

According to the BBC, the study said: "Regular use of social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life."

The study saw that “unrealistic social comparisons” made by looking at social media posts led to a "deterioration of mood" in most of the 1,300 people surveyed.

It suggested that people should actively engage in conversation which can create a more positive experience.

Another way to improve your Christmas, said the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networkingstudy study, is to stop using social media altogether.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in