the secret of facebook's success

a study published in the APA's journal of personality and social psychology by kennon sheldon, neetu abad and christian hinsch suggests that:


- social disconnection motivates facebook use, so when lonely we log onto facebook;




- and when we do use Facebook we feel less lonely, more connected;


- but also the feelings of disconnection persist and are not reduced by facebook use;


- so using facebook is a coping response that does not resolve the base problem but is a pleasant distraction from it.


- which presumably is why in our increasingly virtual connected but decreasingly physically connected world facebook is so popular


original study found via experimental theology