By Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel

Better technology, faster and omnipresent internet connection, and the existence of social networking sites have changed the way we communicate with each other and what we share about ourselves. If you – like me – have a Facebook account you may have shared information with people that you haven’t seen in years and that you probably will not ever encounter face-to-face for a coffee or an old-fashioned chat in your life again. At the same time, you possibly are a constant consumer of pieces and bits of other people’s lives that they decide to share on Facebook. People are spending a substantial amount of time on social networking sites such as Facebook: On average 1.72 hours daily (according to a survey by globalwebindex.net between 2012 and 2014). In recent years, there has been a considerable number of studies looking into the effects of social media use on our wellbeing – particularly the mental health of young adults. In today’s post, I give an overview of some intriguing findings in this research area and highlight the positive and negative effects social networking sites can have on wellbeing and mental health.

Before you continue reading, let’s start with a quick activity. Please scribble down the answers to the following two questions: Why do you have a Facebook account? What do you do when you log on to Facebook? While reading this post reflect on your answers as I describe different research findings.