We know that hours gazing at a screen on Facebook isn’t the best habit for us anyway, but now there’s another reason that we should probably click to exit long before we do.
Researchers found those who socialised regularly with their friends on the networking website had higher levels of self-esteem… but lower levels of self-control.
This meant, strange but true, that they were more likely to snack on unhealthy food once they had logged off, particularly if they had been chatting with close friends.
The research team thought it could be the factor that is driving weight gain rather than by encouraging users to be sedentary.
“Using online social networks can have a positive effect on self-esteem and well-being. However, these increased feelings of self-worth can have a detrimental effect on behaviour,” the researchers reported.
“Because consumers care about the image they present to close friends, social network use enhances self-esteem in users who are focused on close friends while browsing their social network. This momentary increase in self-esteem leads them to display less self-control after browsing a social network.”
The scientists used five experiments on the behaviour of Facebook users to see how it affected them when they were offline.
The studies suggested there was a link between the use of the website and poor self-control over what they ate and how much money they spent.
They found people who used Facebook to contact their friends were more likely to binge eat and be overweight. They also had higher levels of credit card debt.
Now if there was any reason to click off the social networking site…
“These results are concerning given the increased time people spend using social networks, as well as the worldwide proliferation of access to social networks anywhere anytime via smartphones and other gadgets,” the authors said.
“Given that self-control is important for maintaining social order and personal well-being, this subtle effect could have widespread impact.
“This is particularly true for adolescents and young adults who are the heaviest users of social networks and have grown up using social networks as a normal part of their daily lives.”
