Study: Facebook Interaction Can Help Boost Satisfaction With Life
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - Facebook is a way to interact with friends but a new study suggests it could also be a way for them to contribute to your well-being and satisfaction with life.
Dr. Robert Kraut with the CMU Human-Computer Interaction Institute joined the "KDKA Morning News" to talk about their findings.
Dr. Kraut says when friends, "send you comments that are tailored directly to you it seems to have positive effects on people's mental health. Less depression, less loneliness, more sense of well-being."
The study found the sense of well-being comes from a combination of content of what your friends say and, "that somebody that you know and like is reaching out to you."
Kraut adds it doesn't work with every interaction.
"People that are just acquaintances the effect doesn't work for that. It's only people who are closer to you and it doesn't work if you're just reading things that people have posted and broadcast to their whole network without it being directed to you," Kraut said.
Also the "Likes" and thumbs up you will get on a post don't contribute to the positive feeling.
Kraut says there is something called, "Broadcast communication, where somebody just takes a picture of what they had for lunch and showing it to the world and that doesn't have any good effect to the people that are reading it. On the other hand, if they are reaching out to you and remembering your birthday or asking how you are or telling you directly what they've done, then that seems to these positive mental health effects."
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