Feel good about Facebook, but don’t make bad decisions
If you spend a lot of time connecting with friends and family on Facebook, you know the feeling.
You log on to see one of your girlfriends “liked” the vacation photos you posted. Or she commented to agree with your witty status about a tacky reality star. And just like that, you’re feeling good.
For many women, staying connected through social media leaves us cheerful and confident when we sign off. So happy, it turns out, that we’re more likely to make some not-so-great decisions.
Virtual satisfaction, real dilemma
In a study published recently in the Journal of Consumer Research, researchers from Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh tracked the behavior of women who connect with close friends on Facebook.
They found that the momentary self-esteem boost that comes from social networking is connected to poor self-control, which leads to bad snacking habits, poor money decisions, and throwing in the towel early on tasks.
Nancy Mramor, a Pittsburgh-based psychologist who specializes in how media impacts our behavior, says the real-life impact of virtual networking has to do with our need for gratification.
“In real life, people don’t tell you they like you all day long,” she says. “But on the Internet, you can get ‘liked’ at any time. There’s almost an addictiveness about being able to get that positive reinforcement all the time.”
We log on repeatedly in search of those messages, comments and “likes.” And we get a rush of adrenaline that can overpower our thinking and decision-making skills.
“There are a lot of things in your visual field, whether you’re texting or on a Web page,” Mramor says. “The adrenaline rush that occurs to keep up with that doesn’t permit any quiet time in your brain.”
Step away from the computer
Unplugged moments can be crucial when making decisions eating and spending. You need a clear head to make the best decisions, not just the ones that feel good in the moment.
Psychologist Patricia Wallace is senior director of Johns Hopkins University’s Center For Talented Youth Online and Information Technology program.
She says too often, those intimate-self moments are a thing of the past.
“Those times used to be helpful for cognition, and gave you a chance to consolidate memories and get a bit of downtime,” Wallace says.
Wallace says signing off completely is almost impossible in our constantly connected world. So evaluate how much time you spend connecting online—rather than face-to-face—and really consider how it makes you feel.
“Start looking at how all these (social networking sites) are affecting your balance and stress levels,” she says.
Take simple, straightforward steps to pull back, Wallace says. Put an alarm clock or timer near your computer, and allow yourself only a set amount of time for Facebook.