When you click `` Like '' on your friends ' Facebook posts , do you really mean it ? If seeing your Facebook friends living wonderful , fun-filled lives gives you a case of the blues , you 're not alone . A new University of Michigan study found that the more people checked Facebook , the more likely they were to feel worse about their own lives . To measure people 's feelings and Facebook usage , the team enlisted a small group of young adult Facebook users in Michigan and texted them five times a day for two weeks . Each text linked to an online survey that asked how they were feeling . In addition to reporting how much they were checking Facebook , the subjects rated their worry and loneliness levels at that moment as well as their overall satisfaction with life . The authors also asked people to rate their level of life satisfaction at the start and end of the study , and found that the more participants used Facebook over the two-week study period , the more their life satisfaction levels declined . By contrast , the study found that face-to-face interactions with others led people to feel better over time . `` Over a billion people belong to Facebook , and over half of them log in every day , '' said University of Michigan social psychologist Ethan Kross , lead author of the study . `` On the surface , Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection . But rather than enhancing well-being , our findings demonstrate that interacting with Facebook may have the opposite result for young adults . '' What is it about the social network that bums some people out ? One theory is that people are comparing themselves to their friends ' seemingly fantastic digital lives and feeling inferior . Though the sample group of 82 people was small , the findings are similar to other studies about Facebook use and mental health . Facebook has become a tempting subject for researchers because of its role as a constant presence in so many people 's lives . Psychologists , sociologists and other academics are curious about what kind of impact it has on its users ' brains , emotions and self-worth . Some researchers have tapped directly into the gold mine of data generated by the social network ( Facebook has its own staff of data scientists and sometimes teams up with universities ) , while others conduct their own independent studies . In early 2012 , a study out of Utah Valley University also found that many people had a case of the blues after checking Facebook . The researchers talked to a group of 425 students and found correlations between the amount of time people spent checking Facebook and negative feelings about their own lives . The more time their subjects spent on the social network , the higher probability that they would think their friends lived better , happier lives . In January , a study from Germany found that a third of people felt worse after spending time on Facebook . Seeing updates of friends ' successful careers , cute babies and fabulous vacations inspired feelings of envy , loneliness and even anger .
Study : The more people check Facebook , the worse they feel about their lives . Researchers at University of Michigan queried 82 young adults . Authors of study say people may compare their lives to friends ' and feel inferior . Study is not the first to find negative effects of frequent Facebook use .