4 Ways Facebook Is Messing Up Your Life (And You Don't Even Realize It)

Facebook is the uncontested champion of social media with over a billion users worldwide. Nearly 200 million of those users are in the United States alone, a county with a total population of 383 Million. 

With that many people using a social media site, it’s no wonder that many of their experiences end up being negative.

Here are the top 4 ways on how Facebook makes us unhappy and can mess up our life:

1. Your relationships are always at risk.

A study by the University of Missouri found that the more someone uses Facebook, the more likely they are to have fights with their significant other. This conflict might be because another study by the University of Indiana found that many people use Facebook to find back up suitors in case their current relationship doesn’t work out.

How’s that for loyalty? High levels of Facebook use also correlated with increased likelihood of cheating, jealousy, and divorce.

2. You can get fired. 

Is that drunken selfie still set as your profile picture? According to Careerbuilder, a popular job search website — nearly 70 percent of hiring managers screen employees using Facebook. Are you already employed? Well, don’t get too comfortable.

Last year, a man was fired for something he said to a journalist on Twitter. What did he say? Just your typical profanity, what most of us wouldn’t even blink an eye at online. The journalist then looked him up on Facebook to find out the name of his employer. She sent the employer a letter about his bad online behavior and he was quickly fired from the company.

3. You are can be victim to social media witch hunts.

Although this is a bit like the second way Facebook can mess up your life, it’s a bit more of a "can-happen-to-anyone" scenario. Many people have had their lives ruined by professing certain social or political beliefs on Facebook. Often, these conflicts result in death threats, harassment, and complete reputation demolishment.

Remember, once you’ve said it — it’s out there forever. Even if you delete your post, all that it requires is someone pressing a couple of buttons and taking a screenshot.

4. It can affect your mental health in a negative way.

Facebook can screw up your mental health in a number of different ways. One of the most common ways is by lowering your self-esteem. Everyone posts the best of their life on Facebook or, as some call it, "fake-book". It’s just another way for people to feed narcissist desires.

So it’s no wonder why you might see vacation photos, marriages, babies and feel like your life isn’t measuring up  Facebook also gives us a false sense of accomplishment and validation through getting likes, shares, comments and digital friends.

This causes a number of symptoms in real life such as caring more about the vacation photos than the vacation. Caring more about the number of friends than the quality of friends.

So to sum it up. Facebook can ruin your relationships, jobs, reputation, and mental health. So why do we use Facebook so adamantly? Do we really need it? Or do we find ways to justify our use? What do you think? 

Christine Bluehart works in marketing, self-development, and wellness. She has several years of experience in career development and tactics to deal with the stress of modern day life.

Watch this video from Business Insider about posting too much about relationships on Facebook and what it really means: