"The best research suggests that Facebook is net bad for well-being"

[HOW DOES FACEBOOK AFFECT WELL-BEING?] "Overall: The best research suggests that Facebook is net bad for well-being, but the negative effect is small and there are also positive uses. The science here is still early, primarily US based, and relying on self report – we have a lot more we need to learn." [HOW DOES FACEBOOK AFFECT YOUTH WELL-BEING?] "Overall: Findings for teens largely mirror findings for adults; overall associations between social media use and well-being are net negative but small, explaining at most 0.4% of the variation in well-being. Moderate use of digital technology is not intrinsically harmful and may be advantageous." "Problematic use (colloquially, 'addiction'): Feeling that that Facebook has a serious, negative impact on one's sleep, relationships, work, or lives, combined with lack of control over Facebook use. Occurs for 3.1% of Facebook MAPMAPMonthly Active PeopleCore Meta engagement metric counting distinct people active on a platform in a month. Paired with DAP in internal goal-setting; the MAP/DAP ratio is used as a measure of how frequently a monthly user returns.Full entry ↗, with 55% experiencing a milder form of unintentional use (i.e., 'spending too much time on social media'). More common in younger men and teens." "'Addiction' is used colloquially but is not accepted in the clinical or academic literature. It is not clear that Facebook could ever cause a 'true' addiction, though processes like reward-learning and habit-formation underlie addiction and may occur for people using Facebook." "What this means: The most severe forms of problematic use are relatively rare, but negative feelings about one's Facebook use are common - particularly in younger people. This is a serious problem that we need to address. There are many aspects of Facebook that contribute to low-control or unintentional behaviors, and these could be fixed to support people using Facebook in ways that they want to, such a reducing notifications and making them more relevant, making time controls more salient, and introducing pause points into News Feed." "Social comparison: Evaluating yourself negatively with respect to others whom you perceive to be better off than you. While comparing yourself to others is normal online and offline, the type of comparison that leads to negative self-evaluations is heightened on Facebook and can be harmful for well-being. Occurs for 40% of Facebook MAP, with ~5% experiencing chronic social comparison (similar for Instagram). More common in people under 30 (including teens) and women." "What meaningful impact on overall well-being do changes on-platform actually have? We have built products following theoretical principles about what is beneficial for well-being, but the impact of these products on well-being outcomes over time has not been established."