Photo by William Iven (unsplash) Share on Facebook Share on Twitter A new study in the United States claims that having more friends on Facebook helps one live longer. In particular, the more friend requests one accepts, the less likelihood of death within a two-year period. The study looked at the Facebook activities of registered California voters and their mortality rates. Conducted by researchers from the University of California-San Diego, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the study. Importance of Social Networks in Quality of Life According to a Los Angeles Times report, senior author James Fowler acknowledged that real-life social networks affected a person’s happiness and well-being. The study investigated whether this same effect can be found in virtual social networks, something which intrigued the research team. William Hobbs, lead author said, “We’ve known for a long time, for decades now, that offline social networks, especially social integration, [were] related to longer life. But we didn’t know if that extended to online interactions too.” Accepting Friends Equals Longer Life According to the study, the more friend requests a person receives and accepts spelled a 34% less chance of dying within the study period. Those who received and accepted the least number had a higher mortality rate. Sending friend requests however do not have any impact on one’s mortality rate, according to the study. “Moderate” Use of Facebook is Key Aside from accepting friends, posting about “real-world interactions” such as photos had a correlation with lower mortality. This means that offline and face-to-face interactions indicated better health. In terms of other activities like writing wall posts and exchanging messages, moderation was key. Posting just enough (not too much and not too little) showed a link to lower mortality. Photo by Remi Walle via Unsplash The study’s results goes against what earlier studies about the effect of social networks such as Facebook have shown. An earlier study showed that people who used Facebook within a certain period rated their happiness worse during that period. Like PilipinasPopcorn on Facebook for more updates. To send feedback or contribute your stories, email editor@pilipinaspopcorn.com. Facebook Comments
Accepting Friends Equals Longer Life According to the study, the more friend requests a person receives and accepts spelled a 34% less chance of dying within the study period. Those who received and accepted the least number had a higher mortality rate. Sending friend requests however do not have any impact on one’s mortality rate, according to the study. “Moderate” Use of Facebook is Key Aside from accepting friends, posting about “real-world interactions” such as photos had a correlation with lower mortality. This means that offline and face-to-face interactions indicated better health. In terms of other activities like writing wall posts and exchanging messages, moderation was key. Posting just enough (not too much and not too little) showed a link to lower mortality. Photo by Remi Walle via Unsplash The study’s results goes against what earlier studies about the effect of social networks such as Facebook have shown. An earlier study showed that people who used Facebook within a certain period rated their happiness worse during that period. Like PilipinasPopcorn on Facebook for more updates. To send feedback or contribute your stories, email editor@pilipinaspopcorn.com.
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