Negative effects about social media use on health, communication skills, and self-esteem always seem to be in the news. But a recent study maintains that it’s—wait for it—good for you.
A paper published in PNAS on Monday notes that positive health effects of busy online social lives reflect a busy offline social life. People with more friends online in return die at a later time than people with fewer friends online.
The article was approved by three university and state review boards. However, two contributors on the piece had previous work experience with Facebook. Postdoctoral research fellow William Hobbs, a researcher on the study, claims Facebook did not interfere with any of the results.
The study included 12 million Facebook profiles and found that “moderate use” was related to a low mortality rate in regards to longevity and offline relationships.
Maybe those countless hours scrolling through your News Feed feed will all pay off in the end.
H/T New York Times