Envy key motivator behind many Facebook posts, but site hurts mental well-being

Creating a vicious cycle of jealousy and self-importance, the researchers say Facebook leads users to feel their lives are unfulfilling by comparison, and react by creating posts that portray their best selves.

"Social media participation has been linked to depression, anxiety and narcissistic behaviour, but the reasons haven't been well-explained," said Benbasat, Sauder's Distinguished Professor of Information Systems. "We found envy to be the missing link."

According to Benbasat, travel photos are a leading contributor to Facebook envy, pushing friends to post their most perfect pictures. He says the unrealistic portrayal of life is not motivated by the desire to make others jealous, but rather a need to compete and keep up appearances.

For the study, Benbasat and his co-authors surveyed 1,193 Facebook users at a German university. They asked students a series of questions about their Facebook habits and cross-referenced them with the feelings they reported when using the platform.

Benbasat says the functionality of social networks encourages envy-inducing behaviour, and that's unlikely to change.

"Sharing pictures and stories about the highlights of your life -- that's so much of what Facebook is for, so you can't take that away," he said. "But I think it's important for people to know what impact it can have on their well-being. Parents and teachers should take note as young people can be particularly vulnerable to the dark side of social media."