Christmas is a time to connect with friends and family - but social networks should be avoided, according to researchers.
A study from the University of Copenhagen found that Facebook "lurking" over the holidays will have a negative impact and create feelings of envy.
The team define lurking as browsing the social network but not actually connecting (messaging or commenting) with anyone.
Over 1,300 participants took part in the study, which found that "unrealistic social comparisons" would create feelings of envy.
They found that women are more likely to be affected by endless pictures of their friends' perfect Christmas. The research upholds previous evidence that people distort their social media activity to give a false representation of their lives.
"Regular use of social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life," the research stated.
However, actively using social media to communicate with friends and family has a much more positive outcome.
"This seems to be much less gloomy than "passive" users who spend too long "lurking" on social networking websites without getting involved," reported the BBC .
The study suggested that one way to have a better Christmas was to stop using social media altogether.
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