Facebook may cause psychological disorders in teens - study

PanARMENIAN.Net - While social networking site Facebook was created to help people connect with their friends, increasing research in the effect of social media on human interaction is painting a different picture - one that features the development of antisocial behavior, narcissism and a slew of other character flaws and negative by-products.

Overdosing on Facebook may lead to the development of such psychological disorders in teens, according to a recent study conducted by Dr. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University.

In a presentation entitled “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids” at the 119th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Rosen presented his findings based on a number of computer-based surveys distributed to 1,000 urban adolescents and his 15-minute observations of 300 teens in the act of studying.

Not all findings were negative, however - one of the more interesting points from Rosen’s research was the development of “virtual empathy.”

Rosen says that teens are developing the ability to show virtual empathy for distressed Facebook friends and that the empathy is actually well-received by friends, positively influencing their mood.

This virtual empathy, he says, can even spill over into the real world, teaching teens how to empathize with others in everyday life, Mashable reported.