Facebook users may enjoy uploading multiple albums of their recent trip to Las Vegas, but a recent study by a group of British universities points out that oversharing may significantly impact people’s real-life relationships.
According to the study, titled “Taggers Delight?,” users who regularly post photos to Facebook — especially selfies — have no control over how their “friends” on the social network would react to them. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of the West of England and the University of Edinburgh conducted the study.
The study stated a disturbing trend in personal relationships involving Facebook: “Increased frequency of sharing photographs of the self, regardless of the type of target sharing the photographs, is related to a decrease in intimacy.”
It goes on to say that friends who share photographs that show other friends negatively impact the intimacy of the friendship. However, not all photographs have a negative impact. The report states that Facebook users who shared photos of family shows that it is “positively related to support.”
Dr. David Houghton, a lecturer at the Birmingham Business School and one of the report’s authors, told Phys.org that information shared on Facebook is viewed by many people and eliciting different reactions. He cites “selfies” as a problem for people who want to have close relationships in real life.
He added: “Our research found that those who frequently post photographs on Facebook risk damaging real-life relationships. This is because people, other than very close friends and relatives, don’t seem to relate well to those who constantly share photos of themselves.”
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