Facebook lurking is linked to depression. And as this account of researchers communicated by Joseph Mercola also shows, happiness can spread to other people. Your happy or negative mood affects other people at home and in your environment.
The idea that emotions can travel between populations similar to outbreaks of disease is not new. More than 200 years ago, an epidemic of suicides occurred in Europe. Most of the victims had read a book entitled “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” by Johann von Goethe, in which the hero commits suicide. To stop the wave of suicides, the book was banned in several areas, according to a study published in The Journal of Memetics, which continued:
“During the two hundred years that have followed the publication and subsequent censorship of Goethe’s novel, social scientific research has largely confirmed the thesis that affect, attitudes, beliefs and behavior can indeed spread through populations as if they were somehow infectious.”
Fortunately, it’s not only negative emotions that seem to spread like wildfire; positive emotions are contagious too. It’s an important point to remember when choosing with whom to associate and spend your time, as surrounding yourself with happy people may be key to feeling happy yourself.
Teenagers ‘Catch’ Each Others Moods
In a study of more than 2,000 junior high and high school students, researchers used data from depression screenings and surveys to determine social and mood changes over time. As you might suspect, students with friends suffering from bad moods were more likely to report bad moods themselves, while the opposite also held true — students with happier friends were happier themselves. Various components of mood, including appetite, tiredness and sleep were assessed, with the researchers concluding:
“We find that having more friends with worse mood is associated with a higher probability of an adolescent worsening in mood and a lower probability of improving, and vice versa for friends with better mood, for the overwhelming majority of mood components.”
This means that not only can your happy mood benefit that of your friends, but taking steps to boost your mood if you’re feeling down may trickle down to make your friends feel more chipper too.
Facebook Lurking Linked to Depression
It’s becoming increasingly clear that emotions do, in fact, spread, both in person and online. With an estimated 1.65 billion people using the social media site Facebook actively every month, spending an average of 50 minutes on the site daily, this has major implications for public health. In this case, unlike the contagiousness of positive moods in person, lurking on Facebook and seeing other people’s perfect, happy posts can in turn make you feel depressed.
The problem may be social comparison, in that comparing your life to others triggers a feeling that you need to “keep up with the Joneses” instead of being happy with what you have. University of Houston researchers found, however, that all types of social comparisons — whether upward, downward or even neutral — were linked to a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms.
A study of more than 1,000 people in Denmark further revealed causal evidence that “Facebook affects our well-being negatively.” Facebook users who took a one-week break from the site reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and a significantly improved emotional life. Such gains were greatest among heavy Facebook users, those who used the site passively (lurking but not necessarily interacting with others) and those who tended to envy others on Facebook.
Another study, conducted by researchers from Lancaster University in England, examined studies from 14 countries to explore the connection between Facebook usage and depression. It was found that negative comparisons with others on Facebook were predictive of depression because they increased rumination.
Social Happiness Can Spread by Three Degrees
In 2008, researchers again found that a friend living within a mile of a happy friend has a 25 percent greater chance of becoming happy over the 20-year study period. The neighbor of a happy person increases their likelihood of happiness by an impressive 34 percent, even more than the spouse of a happy person (who is 8 percent more likely to be happy).
Equally impressive, however, was the finding that happiness can spread through social networks by up to three degrees, meaning friends of friends of friends can all benefit from one person’s rosy disposition. According to the researchers:
You Can Also ‘Catch’ Others’ Stress
Research published recently revealed that simply observing someone else in a stressful situation typically elicits an empathic stress response in the observer. When observing stressed participants (who were asked to solve difficult arithmetic tasks and engage in interviews) through a one-way mirror, 30 percent of the observers experienced a stress response. When the observer had a romantic relationship with the stressed participant, the emphatic stress response was even stronger, affecting 40 percent. However, even when observing a stressed stranger, 10 percent of observers felt similarly stressed. The stress response was transmitted not only when observers watched the event live, through a one-way mirror, but also via video transmission.
Surround Yourself with Happy People
The take-home message here is that the more you can surround yourself with positive, happy people, the better your emotional health is likely to be. This is true for children and teens, too, so be aware of who your child’s friends are. Connecting with positive people may not be as difficult as it may seem, particularly if you involve yourself in activities that you enjoy and/or benefit your community.