According to Bloomberg report, a September 2018 internal study conducted by Facebook involved interviews with 53 people. He found :
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More than a third of Facebook users, or around 36%, said they felt lonely in the past month.
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Young people between the ages of 13 and 24 are the most affected.
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Loneliness was also more common in men than in women.
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Time spent on Facebook was correlated with loneliness. Users who spent too little or too much time on social media were more likely to feel lonely.
Another internal study, from November 2018, found that:
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Some experiences on Facebook increase loneliness. For example, seeing “negative posts or hurtful comments,” friends having fun without you, or posts that lead to social comparisons.
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The use of Facebook gave people the impression less alone than using Twitter or dating apps,
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However, it was found to increase loneliness more than any activity the researchers measured, including video games and television.
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People who spend about an hour a day are the least lonely, while people who spend much less or much more time are more lonely, they said.
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41% of already lonely users said Facebook made them feel better, and only 6% said it made them feel worse.
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42% said they felt both more and less lonely after using it.
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Facebook memories, which show old photos and videos, increased loneliness for 40% of respondents, but also decreased loneliness for 46%.
The conflicting results are a stumbling block for Facebook (now Meta) in its attempts to tackle loneliness and mental health on its platforms.
“There’s usually a relationship between social media and loneliness, but these studies can’t answer for us: Does social media cause loneliness? Do lonely people come to social media?” Eden Litt, director of Meta’s internal research team, said, according to Bloomberg.
