Too much 'lurking' on social media makes you miserable: study

Excessive use of social media without connecting with others is more likely to make you miserable, a study showed, according to China's Xinhua news agency.

The study, published recently in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, was conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen on over 1,000 participants, mostly women.

The results indicated that regular use of social networking like Facebook can "negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life."

Spending too long looking at other people's social media posts can create "unrealistic social comparisons", which induce a deterioration of mood and a sense of envy, it suggested.

Instead of lurking on social media, researchers encourage people to actively engage in conversation and connect with other people, which seems to be a much more positive experience.

The study suggested taking a short break from social media, a week for instance, which could help improve mental well-being. -- Bernama