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London: Ever felt low if your friend gets more likes or tweets than you? You're not alone. Comparisons on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter make people feel anxious and under-confident, according to a poll.

The poll also found that more than half said these sites had altered their behaviour, especially suffering a negative impact from social media. Two-thirds said they were unable to relax or to doze off after spending time on the sites.

And one quarter of those polled said they had been left facing difficulties in their relationships or workplace after becoming confrontational online, the Telegraph reported.

Comparisons on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter make people feel anxious and under-confident.

In total, 298 people were polled by Salford Business School at the University of Salford, for the charity Anxiety UK. Of those, 53 percent said the launch of social networking sites had changed their behaviour and of those, 51 percent said the impact had been negative.

The research also demonstrated the addictive powers of internet, with 55 percent of people saying they felt "worried or uncomfortable" when they could not access their Facebook or e-mail accounts.

More than 60 percent of people said they felt compelled to turn off electronic gadgets in order to have a break, with one in three of those surveyed saying they switched the devices off several times each day.

The findings about behaviour changes after using social networking sites came from smaller in-depth research which was then carried out by Anxiety UK.

Nicky Lidbetter, the charity's chief executive said: "If you are predisposed to anxiety it seems that the pressures from technology act as a tipping point, making people feel more insecure and more overwhelmed."

Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist said many people suffered increased anxiety because they failed to take charge of the demands being placed on them. She said: "I think one of the key things is that people have begun to behave as though technology is in control of them, instead of the other way round. We can switch the gadgets off but a lot of us have forgotten how to."

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Facebook, Twitter lowering your confidence?

PEOPLE are said to get more affected by Facebook photos of others because these are real, un-Photoshopped photos of people they know.

We use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and blogs to virtually connect with people, updating each other with regular status reports and giving (and receiving) feedback about them. Social networking sites readily provide us with what we personally, professionally and socially needand everything for free.

Negative impact

However, we should also be aware of the negative impact of social networking in our life. Staying on those sites takes so much of your time, especially if you have no self-discipline. And notice how painful comments affect our thoughts and actions.

Several articles and studies worldwide have shown how social networking sites like Facebook can create a negative perception of ones body and weight when comparing ones photos with the photos of friends. Facebook users usually post photos of themselves at their best body shape and clothes. People with self-esteem and body image issues can become easily affected by these hard-to-reach images, just like when seeing photos of models and celebrities in television, magazines and newspapers. According to mental health specialists, people get more affected by Facebook photos of others because these are real, un-Photoshopped photos of people they know, like family members and friends.

Statistics

Results of an online survey for 600 Facebook users age 16-40 conducted by the researchers of Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore show that:

Eighty percent of the respondents visit Facebook once a day and more than half of them log on numerous times a day. This implies that constant Facebook use may affect ones body image, and can lead to weight obsession and preoccupation, unhealthy dieting practices and eating disorders as results of social comparison among Facebook peers.

Both young and old can be negatively affected by constant Facebook visits. In fact, a study this year conducted by professors at the University of Haifa shows that the more frequent an adolescent girl (average age: 14.8) spends on Facebook, the more chances of developing various eating disorders and negative body image.

How to use Facebook to avoid body image and self-esteem issues:

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Facebook can make you fat

By Kristen Powers

Published July 10, 2012

As college students, we all need technology to function, but some of us crave it. Whenever one of my professors doesnt use Blackboard, students get annoyed because the system makes accessing study materials and grades much easier. Cellphones have gone far beyond making calls and texting. I personally get lost and frustrated without a GPS, and the games and apps on smartphones have given many of us the means to kill time.

Smartphones are so prevalent that providers are reportedly worried about the possibility of a spectrum crunch (the idea that we could run out of airwaves)[http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/spectrum-crunch] for data signaling because of increased smartphone and Wi-Fi use. Even if that never happens, our fears of a theoretical spectrum crunch reflect how technology use is being taken to the extreme. As a result of our increased consumption of technology, social networking in particular, we have to deal with aspects of our social identities that never have existed before, and it is starting to have an unhealthy effect.

Online networks place a pressure on us to be available at all times. Of all the social networks out there, the one that seems to have nearly universal membership is Facebook. With its more than (901 million users as of March 2012)[http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22], Facebook's massive social network is severely distorting how we perceive our relationships with others. Some openly fret about their number of friends on Facebook, which is often in the thousands for more prolific users.

The idea we can maintain a contact network of this size in which people are anything more than a number on a web page is completely implausible. Research has shown (the brain cannot handle more than 100 to 150 meaningful connections)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/14/my-bright-idea-robin-dunbar] with other people in one's immediate day-to-day life. Social networking has its purpose, but it is important we keep the purpose of sites like Facebook in context and avoid using it as a replacement for meaningful social interaction. Solely communicating with someone via text can get boring, and a lot of nuanced emotions can get lost when not communicating in person. Because of this, these sites should primarily serve as a sort of Rolodex, not as a social register or replacement for direct interaction.

Another distressing side effect of our increasingly large electronic identities is once you put something online, it exists indefinitely, which could be harmful for younger generations. If every thought I had as a 14-year-old was documented on Twitter, I would be living under a rock from embarrassment.

Whats more, the legacy you leave on the Internet could outlive you, giving others the freedom to manipulate it. At the Coachella Music Festival this year, holograms of the late Tupac Shakur and Nate Dogg appeared onstage. Though this performance helped increase the sale of Tupac's records by nearly 600 percent, some privacy advocates voiced their disapproval, and rapper Waka Flocka Flame complained record companies were (getting paid off a dead man's body.)[http://www.vibe.com/article/v-exclusive-waka-flocka-tupac-hologram-i-hated-it]

Most of us arent particularly worried about being regenerated as a hologram postmortem, but the increasing size of the average persons online presence is making it increasingly difficult for us to control the information we choose to share with people. As society increasingly judges people based on their online identities, this lack of control can be extremely frustrating. Because of the unhealthy effects of online social networking, I suggest we leave our laptops and make an effort to connect more with our friends face-to-face.

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Log off: social networking is bringing us down

More than 120,000 people in Bahrain have joined social media networks since last year, it has been revealed. There are 340,000 active Facebook users and more than 60,000 people on Twitter, said Social Media Club Bahrain president Ali Sabkar.

According to the latest figures, a total of 247,000 people used Facebook last January and 42,349 were on Twitter in September last year.

Mr Sabkar said the growing numbers were among 43 million Arab Facebook users and 1.3m Twitter accounts.

"People in Bahrain, considering its size and population, are already one of the leading social media users," he said on the sidelines of the Social Media Awards ceremony at the Elite Resort and Spa, Muharraq.

"Social networks' use jumped considerably in Bahrain in the beginning of 2011 and people here have not looked back since.

Mr Sabkar said Bahrain now has 900,000 internet users, out of which 51 per cent were active on social media sites.

"The age of communication and digital relationships between brands, the media and consumers has changed faster and in ways few could have anticipated and Bahrain is at the forefront of this revolution," he added.

"Social media has become a tool with measurable power that truly has a place within almost any kind of business."

He said the awards would encourage users to utilize social media networks for personal and business objectives.

"It is no secret that social media has led to a democratization of media and has paved the way for a new generation of online relationships and conversations," he explained.

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Bahrain Sees Surge in Social Networking

July 9, 2012 (WLS) -- You may remember the online campaign that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to send a bullied bus monitor on the vacation of her dreams.

Now, an online community is turning all kinds of ideas into reality with the help of complete strangers and some serious money.

Chicagoan Julian Bell is recording his debut album this summer but he needed some help to pay for the project. Rather than more traditional funding options, he turned to the internet.

"It is a little crazy to think that someone who you've never met before and may never meet is offering you to give you some kind of money," Bell said.

"It's an active thing you have to do, get people to donate and participate in it, so that's a good way to get your name out there, you're always asking people, could you please spread the word."

Bell is using a fundraising social network called Kickstarter, a website where people log on and donate money to help fund new ideas.

If the project reaches the fundraising goal the creator gets the money and creates the project, otherwise the donations are returned to the investors.

Northwestern University professor Liz Gerber studies this new type of social networking called crowdfunding. She's even using it to help fund some of her research. She says it's a digital version of passing the hat.

"When people put their money where their mouth is, it's a different indicator of validation then just cool idea man," Gerber said.

"It's been happening actually for years," Gerber said. "The difference here is now we have the internet which facilitates a whole new kind of communication and social media which allows us to constantly be in contact with folks to give them updates about our project and tell them what is going on."

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Social networking helping to raise funds