Facebook can make you sad too: Study

LONDON: In today's world, logging on to social networking websites may be the most popular way to know about each others' lives, but it can also make you sad, say researchers.

A new study, led by sociologists Hui-Tzu Grace Chou and Nicholas Edge, at Utah Valley University has found the more hours people spend on social networking sites, like Facebook, the stronger is their belief that others are happier.

The researchers claim that the carefully chosen pictures of cheerful faces which Facebook users tend to upload on their pages actually portray a debilitating message to others.

"Looking at happy pictures of others on Facebook gives people an impression that others are 'always' happy and having good lives. While Facebook users will know that their real friends have ups and downs in their lives, all they have to go on with their fake Facebook 'friends' is a smiling picture," the 'Daily Mail' quoted Chou as saying.

For their study, the researchers interviewed 425 undergraduate students about their happiness and that of their friends. The subjects were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with statements such as "Life is fair" and "Many of my friends have a better life than me".