Wishful thinking can't take away negative realities of Facebook for users

Washington: A new study has suggested that Facebook users with so-called optimistic bias think that they're less likely than other users to experience cyberbullying, depression and other negative social and psychological effects from using the site.

The Dartmouth-Cornell study suggests that optimistic bias or an intrinsic tendency to imagine future events in a favorable light that enhances positive self-regard, in other words, wishful thinking, leaves those Facebook users vulnerable to the negative realities of social media.

Lead author Sunny Jung Kim said that the findings demonstrate important and novel discrepancies in how people perceive themselves and others concerning the positive and negative outcomes of Facebook use.

The results show that Facebook users with optimistic bias tend to show strong support for Internet regulations to protect other users from social ostracizing, although not from psychologically negative effects, including depression and loneliness. The lack of support regarding psychological harms may be because mental health effects are perceived as less amenable to regulation or because their importance is underestimated, the researchers say.

The results also show that Facebook users who view the site negatively or who use it infrequently think other people are more likely than themselves to have positive experiences on the site, a reversed optimistic bias that is new and intriguing.

Kim added that although some might argue that it is still premature to claim that Facebook use is a direct predictor of extreme events such as clinical depression and suicidal attempts, a growing line of research indicates that negative events such as Facebook cyberbullying can result in detrimental consequences, including depression and substance use problems.

Kim noted that without adequate protections, the damage of these critical events can be severe. This is especially the case for those in a vulnerable health condition, in which this optimistic bias for risk events can leave them unprepared without adequate health protective behaviors.

The study appears in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.