[ad_1]
Scientists from Stanford University conducted a survey of 2,844 US Facebook users, some of whom were asked to delete their accounts during the interim elections.
By the end of the experiment, participants felt happier, were starting to spend less time on social networks and more – with family or friends. The polarization of political sentiment and the awareness of events around the world have also diminished.
Also read: Facebook admits to spying on teens: details
The emergence of social networks has greatly facilitated communication between people; In addition, it has become easier to maintain one's own interests and to know the news with the help of a band created for each user and each thematic community. However, simplifying access to social networks after the advent of smartphones and other portable gadgets can cause users to spend too much time there.
It is useful to give up social networks
. the question of the possible negative impact of social networks. Thus, last fall, the researchers conducted a pilot study on a sample of 143 people. It has been shown that reducing the amount of time users spend on popular social networks reduces the symptoms of depression and the rescue of loneliness . The negative effect of social networks can be aggravated during important social events, such as elections or unstable political conditions.
In a new paper, scientists at Stanford University, led by Hunt Ellkott, decided to study the influence of social networks on the lives of users of United States. the time of the interim elections to Congress, which took place in November 2018. To do this, they used advertisements on Facebook to bring together a group of 2,844 volunteers who wanted to disable their account for less than $ 100 for four weeks, then choose from a larger sample of people who responded to the advertisement.
Among them, the researchers then randomly chose 58% and asked them, for the month preceding the end date of the elections, to delete their accounts. Half of this group, again selected at random until the end of the experiment, paid the money and the other half did not pay it. For four weeks, researchers monitored the status of participants through online and SMS surveys, as well as their activities on Facebook and Twitter.
See also: Social networks "earn" more and more personal information: research
In addition, participants were asked about how they spend their free time without social networks, how they communicate with their relatives, where they get news and what is their interest in the political life of the country.
During the study, only 2% of participants fell into the trap. sample cached, reactivated their accounts. At the end of the experiment, the researchers found both the positive and negative effects of disabling the account: participants were starting to spend less time on other social networks and more time with the family and friends, their mental state was improved, but at the same time, they became less. informed of what is happening in the country and in the world.
The authors of the paper note that after the experiment, participants began to spend less time on the social network and the fact that a large number of users have agreed to disable their accounts for money, said that they understand mo Libya negative impact that has on their time spent on Facebook. Reproduction is available on the University's website, reported by N + 1.
More news about the world's events in technology, gadgets, artificial intelligence and the # 39, space, read in section Techno
Source link
