New Study Shows Facebook Use Elevates Mood

Feb. 7, 2012 - PRLog -- New Rochelle, NY—People visit social networking sites such as Facebook for many reasons, including the positive emotional experience that people enjoy and want to repeat, according to an article in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com) The article is available free online at (http://www.liebertpub.com/cyber)

Measurements of physical and psychological responses such as breathing rate, brain activation, and pupil dilation, designed to assess a person’s psychophysiological state, were collected in a group of individuals participating in either a relaxing or stressful task or being online on their own personal Facebook account. The results revealed a significantly different experience for stress or relaxation exposure compared to the response to Facebook.

Maurizio Mauri, PhD, Pietro Cipresso, PhD, Anna Balgera, MA, Marco Villamira, PhD, MD, and Giuseppe Riva, PhD, from IULM University, Auxologico Italian Institute, and Catholic University of Sacro Cuore, in Milan, Italy, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, report the design, findings, and conclusions of this study in the article entitled, “Why Is Facebook so Successful? Psychophysiological Measures Describe a Core Flow State while Using Facebook.” (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cyber.2010.0377)

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies.  Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/cyber

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Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Games for Health Journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, and Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at (http://www.liebertpub.com)