Study: Social Networks Have Negative Effect On Individual Welfare 76
An anonymous reader writes: A study of 50,000 people in Italy has found the impact of social networking on individual welfare to be "significantly negative." The researchers found that improvements in self-reported well-being occurred when online networking led to face-to-face interactions, but this effect was overwhelmed by the perceived losses in well-being (PDF) generated by interaction strictly through social networks. The researchers "highlight the role of discrimination and hate speech on social media which they say play a significant role in trust and well-being. Better moderation could significantly improve the well-being of the people who use social networks, they conclude."
Re:Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)
Let me fix this for you ..."other people pretend to be happy"...
Re:Interesting (Score:5, Insightful)
Seeing other people happy could potentially adversely effect someone that is clinically depressed .
This is the exact opposite of what the researchers concluded: That people are adversely affected by seeing other people that are angry and hateful.
Re:"Moderation?" Don't you mean "Censorship?" (Score:5, Insightful)
Call me cynical, but I just don't see Facebook adopting a sane moderation system, like for example anything that approximates slashcode.
Their equivalent of "moderation" would better resemble censorship. They would simply hide the thoughts and comments they don't think you would like. Of course, it would be for your own good...
No, they mean moderation.
Censorship is the suppression of speech. For example: "You can't talk about Oranges, they are evil!"
Moderation is the regulation of speech: "You can talk about Oranges, just not here. Go over there to talk about Oranges."
Freedom of speech means you have the right to say what you want, But I have and equal right to throw you out of my house if I don't like what you have to say. You seem to want the right to force me to listen to you, and that's just as bad as any form of censorship.
Re:/. Is ostensibly a social network. (Score:5, Insightful)