Facebook may connect you with the world, but the more you use it the less happy you'll be, according to a new study.
After monitoring 82 Facebook users over two weeks, researchers at the University of Michigan found that the more a person uses the social network, the more his or her well-being declined in both the short term and in overall life satisfaction.
"On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling such needs by allowing people to instantly connect," said psychologist Ethan Kross, the lead author of the study.
"Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it," Kross said.
The study found that real-world interactions with people made the subjects feel better over time, which led the researchers to infer that social interaction online "predicts impoverished well-being."
The study also seemed to prove the existence of the anecdotally pervasive phenomenon of "FOMO": Fear Of Missing Out. The more subjects saw their friends and family posting photos and connecting in the real world, the worse they felt.