I’m sure most of us have seen that friend on Facebook who keeps on threatening to leave.

“Facebook is just a waste of time” they say, unaware that you don’t actually have to check into every restaurant you go near and keep the world informed of changes in your mood.

Then friends talk them down from the ledge, imploring them to remain on the site so that their own photos can receive more likes. The joys of Facebook hey…

Well one woman in the UK decided to take the plunge and quit the ‘Book, discovering that there is scientific research which points to a boost in happiness and a reduction in anger and feelings of loneliness. Here’s some excerpts from her story in the Telegraph:

The report suggests that Facebook distorts our perception of reality – we buy in to the oh-so-fabulous commentary on other people’s lives to such an extent that we can’t help but evaluate our own less than perfect lives as being inadequate…

Before my daughter’s illness, I was pretty much addicted to Facebook: I would post up to four times a day, sometimes more and it was the last thing I checked on at night and the first place I turned to upon waking. I’d be engaging in online conversations via the site in parallel to the rest of my life. All of this was costing me a good three hours out of every day.

Today, those hours are filled with fresh air down at my allotment, socializing with friends face to face, organizing my life and increasing my work output. As a result, I have more energy and I’m sleeping better – research has shown that the blue light emitted from screens is especially effective at keeping you awake because it suppresses the production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.

I also feel more fulfilled professionally (comparing myself less to my peers probably has helped me simply ‘be’), and things are less chaotic on the domestic front as I am more engaged with the things in front of me and less distracted by those far away.

I can’t help but feel that Facebook is like many things in this world – best enjoyed in moderation. A few beers at the end of the day, good idea. Binging on beers the whole day whilst neglecting other, more important things not a good idea.

Perhaps if we realised that the world doesn’t actually need to know what we had for dinner, where we went earlier today and how fond we are of cat videos Facebook would be a happier place for all of us.

And please, for the love of all that is good in this world, never ever post a status that goes something like this:

‘Feeling so sad today…’ ‘Just found out the best news!’ etc – looking for attention on social media is so 2014.

[source:telegraph]