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Germany

Social Envy - Study Finds Facebook Causes Depression And Isolation

Facebook can be a lonely place
Facebook can be a lonely place
Fanny Jimenez

BERLIN - Social networks like Facebook make many things easier. You can find out right away if Alex got the job or not, and you can not only read about Marie’s vacation, but you can also see all those pictures of her on the beach, too.

There’s also a downside to this. Researchers have conducted tests that show that people who spend a lot of time scrolling on Facebook are more socially isolated and more frequently depressed than those who do not.

The question, of course, poses itself: are lonely people more drawn to social networks – or does constant surfing result in loneliness over time?

While it wasn’t able to answer the question conclusively, a joint research study conducted by Berlin’s Humboldt University and the Darmstadt’s Technical University did however reveal that spending time on social networks could lead to negative feelings.

The German researchers, led by Dr. Hanna Krasnova, conducted two studies with 600 Facebook users. The results, which will be presented at the end of February at the "11th International Conference Wirtschaftsinformatik (Information Systems)" at the University of Leipzig, show that Facebook can stir up intense envy and can also negatively impact life satisfaction, particularly for passive users.

People who communicate relatively infrequently but read the posts of friends and click through their pictures tend to be less satisfied with their own life, according to the researchers. They asked their subjects to cite possible reasons for this – why using Facebook could awaken a sense of frustration.

The never-ending “envy spiral”

"Envy" was the answer in nearly 30% of cases, followed by 20% of those who deplored “lack of feedback” to their posts by other users. In 36% of cases, subjects said they “sometimes to very often” felt frustrated by Facebook.

Most envied were the vacations or leisure activities of others, followed by social interactions such as, for example, seeing that a friend got more virtual happy birthday wishes than one had received for one’s own birthday. This is different than face-to-face relations, where envy is fueled by the success, talent and possessions of others.

On social networks on the other hand, everybody tries to come across at their very best, often embellishing their profiles. According to researchers, Facebook “friends” become a reference group against which one starts to compare one’s own popularity and success – and this easily leads to glorifying others and putting them above oneself, i.e. the perfect recipe for feelings of envy. Researchers coined the phrase “envy spiral” to describe this phenomenon.

"Envy can proliferate on social networks and become even more intense in the case of passive users," the researchers write. "Considering the fact that Facebook use is a worldwide phenomenon and envy is a universal feeling, a lot of people are subject to these painful consequences," said the study.

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

Since creating a controversial commission against "Russian influence", Polish President Andrzej Duda has faced criticism from the United States and the European Union. Duda has since offered to make several changes to the law, but several experts in Brussels remain unconvinced that the law will not become a witch hunt ahead of the upcoming elections.

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

This story was updated on June 8, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. local time

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law last week, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

On Wednesday, the European Commission launched legal action against Poland over the highly controversial law. Brussels fears the law could be used to target opposition politicians in the run-up to Poland's general election, which takes place later this year.

Indeed, University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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