Prior research indicates that Facebook usage predicts declines in subjective well-being over time. How does this come about? We examined this issue in 2 studies using experimental and field methods. In Study 1, cueing people in the laboratory to use Facebook passively (rather than actively) led to declines in affective well-being over time. Study 2 replicated these findings in the field using experience-sampling techniques. It also demonstrated how passive Facebook usage leads to declines in affective well-being: by increasing envy. Critically, the relationship between passive Facebook usage and changes in affective well-being remained significant when controlling for active Facebook use, non-Facebook online social network usage, and direct social interactions, highlighting the specificity of this result. These findings demonstrate that passive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being.

Just a decade ago people primarily relied on face-to-face interactions, the phone, and e-mail to connect. Today, such connections often occur instantly via online social networks such as Facebook—but to what effect on well-being?

Kross et al. (2013) addressed this issue by examining the longitudinal implications of Facebook use for the two components of subjective well-being: how people feel moment-to-moment and how satisfied they are with their lives. They found that the more people used Facebook during one time period, the worse they subsequently felt; the more they used Facebook over 2-weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time.

Although these findings begin to illuminate the relationship between Facebook usage and subjective well-being, they raise an important question: How does Facebook usage lead...