瀏覽社交網站更新歷史有助情緒振奮

Looking at old photographs of yourself on Facebook can boost your mood - and be as soothing as a walk in the park, a new study found.

Researchers found users typically post positive pictures and status updates on the social networking site.

And looking back over these snaps and wall posts when upset or depressed reminds us of happier times.

Almost 90 percent of users access the site to look at their own wall posts, and three quarters do this when they are 'feeling low'.

Dr Alice Good, from the University of Portsmouth's School of Computing, found this 'self-soothing' use of Facebook is beneficial to our mood.

The more prone somebody is to depression, the more effective this browsing is, the study found.

The findings contradict previous research, which suggested looking at Facebook can be bad for your mental health.

Dr Good said: 'We were very surprised by these findings, which contradict some recent reports.

'The results indicate we could use self-soothing as a form of treatment for low moods.

'Although this was only a small study, we will go on to study larger groups to see if the results remain consistent.'

Dr Good questioned 144 Facebook users and found they often use the site to reminisce, using old photos and wall posts as a form of comfort.

The group had an average age of 34 and had slightly more men than women. Of these, 39 percent had a history of mental health problems.

A staggering 86 percent of participants visit Facebook more than once a day, with 75 percent looking at photos and 86 percent wall posts each time.

These were the most popular activities, and also those that made them happiest.

Psychologist Dr Clare Wilson, also from the University of Portsmouth, said: ''Facebook is marketed as a means of communicating with others, but this research shows we are more likely to use it to connect with our past selves, perhaps when our present selves need reassuring.''最新研究顯示，瀏覽Facebook上的舊照片可以使情緒振奮，就如同在公園散步一樣讓人感到慰藉。

研究人員發現，用戶在社交網站Facebook上會發布積極向上的照片和狀態更新。

當人們感到心煩或沮喪的時候，回顧這些照片和發言能讓人們想起更快樂的時光。

近90%的用戶會登錄Facebook瀏覽自己的發言，三成用戶在“感到情緒低落”時這樣做。

朴茨茅斯大學計算學院的愛麗絲-古德博士發現，使用Facebook所產生的這種“自我慰藉”對情緒有利。

研究發現，這種瀏覽對更容易沮喪的人來說效果更好。

這項研究結果與之前的研究相矛盾。此前一項研究標明，瀏覽Facebook對心理健康不利。

古德博士說：“我們對研究結果感到驚訝，這與最近的一些報道相悖。”

“研究結果標明，我們可以使用自我慰藉來治療情緒低落。”

“儘管這只是一項小小的研究，但我們將繼續針對更多羣體展開研究，驗證結果是否一致。”

古德博士調查了144位Facebook用戶，發現他們經常使用該網站進行回憶，瀏覽舊照片和發言來安慰自己。

受調查者平均34歲，男性略多於女性。其中39%的人曾出現心理健康問題。

高達86%的受訪者每天不止一次登錄Facebook，其中75%的受訪者每次都瀏覽照片，86%的受訪者每次都瀏覽發言。

這些是最受歡迎的登錄行爲，也會讓用戶最開心。

朴茨茅斯大學心理學博士克萊爾-威爾森說：“Facebook作爲一種與他人的溝通工具推向市場，但該研究標明，也許當我們現在的自己需要安慰時，我們更喜歡使用Facebook與過去的自己聯繫。”