By

Chenda Ngak /

CBS News/ November 27, 2012, 5:24 PM

Facebook may cause stress, study says

Is Facebook stressing you out? You may not be the only one. According to a new study, the more friends you have on the social network, the more stressed out you may be.

A recent study by the University of Edinburgh Business School in Scotland suggests that the more types of friends a person has on Facebook may increase anxiety because the potential to offend someone is greater.

The researchers postulate that stress can arise when a person participates in behavior that may not be approved by peers on Facebook, such as swearing, recklessness, drinking and smoking.

The situation may be exacerbated by the growing number of people joining Facebook. Unlike the early days of the social network, when members mainly consisted of college students, the demographic of users has widened with growth of Facebook -- particularly after it opened to the public.

"Facebook used to be like a great party for all your friends where you can dance, drink and flirt. But now with your Mum, Dad and boss there the party becomes an anxious event full of potential social landmines," said Ben Marder, a marketing fellow at the University of Edinburgh and author of the report.

Facebook's minimum age limit is currently 13-years old. In August, the social network reported its oldest user was a 101-year-old woman. An average users can fall anywhere in that spectrum.

The study surveyed over 300 people, which were mostly students who were an average age of 21. It's not a far stretch to imagine that specific demographic might be anxious about public perception on Facebook.

More information about the study can be found on the University of Edinburgh's website.

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
18 Comments Add a Comment
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LadyCam73 says:
You know what?.

Facebook is BORING. 700 or 7,000 friends on FB seems impossible. how can you read so many comment and can't reply so many. Not worth my time to read and write over 700 or 7,000.

I can only reply to family and several friends which is just good enough for me. I usually write email or text my family/friends than FB and it's also in private.

Also too many picture on FB is obviously haughty by the way I see it. He or She except someone to say, "Oh, nice", "Beautiful" even except someone to click, "LIKE". what's the big deal to click, "LIKE" on FB?. Is it making you satisfaction to know someone that click, "LIKE" on FB. Ugh!.


Better focus something else than FB.
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Infinitarian says:
Well, if there's anything this article shows it's that mainstream
media are going down and the blogosphere is about to take its place. Who still takes these people seriously?

Here's the study. It said "media," not "social media," along with "work," and
it said it was "hardest to resist," not that people would choose it over
sex.

http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2012/01/27/study-finds-lure-entertainment-work-hard-people-resist
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AnthonyJsn says:
LOL!!! Who were the ninny babies in this study? Seriously afraid of offending someone in a facebook post? LOL It's a social network for God sakes. It's an open forum where people can freely exchange/share idea's amongst each other, if they disagree with something you post. Have healthy discussions. Who the heck gets stressed about a facebook post? lol!
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AnthonyJsn replies:
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Sorry for the double post, my phone refreshed in the middle of submitting it.
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AnthonyJsn says:
LOL!!! Who were the ninny babies in this study? Seriously afraid of offending someone in a facebook post? LOL It's a social network for God sakes. It's an open forum where people can freely exchange/share idea's amongst each other, if they disagree with something you post. Have healthy discussions. Who the heck gets stressed about a facebook post? lol!
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PloCoon says:
I have thought about getting off of Facebook, but its practical usage possibilities keep me on it. Plus, it's the best way I can keep track of my friends I haven't seen in a while.

However, I'm currently in Xinzheng, China, studying Chinese, and I deliberately did not download a VPN so as to obey Chinese law. Three months without Facebook so far, and it's actually kind of nice (though God help me when I get back home and see all the notifications and messages from 1500 friends waiting for me, haha). They mostly use QQ here, and the QZone is a lot like MySpace without the teenage sex solicitation, but I don't understand all the Mandarin involved in QZone so I just stick with the instant messaging.
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PloCoon replies:
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That is, I don't understand all the QZone Mandarin YET. ;-)
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micmac666 says:
Sit on a Facebook today.
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Jaylah54200 says:
I knew there was a reason I took one look at this idiocy and thought to myself, "Mehhh."
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rwsmith29456 replies:
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I feel the same way. I just wish I could get my son off of it.
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hypnotoad72 says:
So does joblessness, lack of opportunities, exorbitant education costs, unethical professors, and a slew of other issues that are more important and far less of a choice than using this second-rate pathetic "social media" tool... especially as it's the "service" that makes tools of all who use it. Read their terms of service policy for all the details you'd ever want to stomach.
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micmac666 says:
Social Media is for dweebs.
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OmegaWolf747 says:
Privacy controls: know them, love them, use them.
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hypnotoad72 replies:
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Be sure to hear about them and hope they don't change things without your knowing about it...

My one-liner adds more depth than your one-liner does, and reflects reality a little better as well... cool, huh?
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