You might feel a bit better about yourself if you keep checking your Facebook profile but you are slowly getting stupid. This is according to a study published in the Media Psychology journal done by Catalina Toma of the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
159 U.S college students were asked to check their own profiles for a period and then they answered a series of questions to reveal their self-esteem and cognitive abilities.
“Results show that a brief exposure to one’s own profile raised state self-esteem, but that it hampered performance in a subsequent cognitive task by decreasing the motivation to perform well,” states the publication.
Since we only update and upload content that is favorable to their self-esteem, users are likely to feel good about their profile. We know how quickly we un-tag ourselves in photos that don’t show us in ‘good light’. The good-feel factor makes us less motivated hence the low productivity.
