In a new study that is sure to spawn some chicken and egg debating (and is perfectly timed to coincide with the very big IPO), a psychological study from Larry Rosen, a psych professor at Cal State, has concluded that people who use the Facebook "Like" button more often are more likely to show symptoms of "mania" and "compulsivity."
According to Smart Money's story, some of the people Rosen interviewed looked at Facebook as a popularity contest (no kidding) and clicked "like" more often in the hopes of being "liked" back. As one extremely cool and well-adjusted subject said, "When I post something I keep checking in to see how people are reacting. If I get my usual 5 to 10 comments I feel okay, but when I get 30 or more ‘likes’ I feel super-good." However, there seems to be some disagreement between psychologists about whether the new technology of Facebook has created this problem or if it has simply exacerbated conditions that already existed in users before signing in.
How many of you hang on every like and comment? Are you worried that Facebook may be driving you insane? Let us know in the comments (and don't forget to "Love" this post and also ReTweet it and Like it on Facebook and Heart it on Tumblr and Pin it on Pinterest. My mental well-being depends on it!)
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