Facebook gloating about holidays could cause resentment among friends

Although you would think that some people enjoy posting about their holiday on social media more than the actual trip itself, a new study has suggested that this act will only alienate your friends instead of impressing them.

Indeed, the paper conducted by Harvard University has stated that such show offish acts and depictions of your lavish trip tends to plant the seed of resentment, not enjoyment, in those who look upon your online holiday pics.

'The Unforeseen Costs Of Extraordinary Experience' found that although we all enjoy the uncommon experiences that can occur on a luxury holiday, we don’t like seeing other people enjoying them.

In an age where many seem to think that constantly posting about a holiday is the only way to validate its existence, this could be somewhat of a problem!

The three psychologists who conducted the experiment found that those at home seeing the exploits of a brilliant holiday are likely to feel left out more than anything else.

In order to test this theory, the researchers split their test group in two, giving one section a quality clip of a street magician to view and the other a low-quality animated video.

Afterwards, both groups were united and asked to discuss what they had seen. Those who had seen the street magician in the higher quality video were initially happier but felt left out by the other group who had become unified in their experience.

Gus Cooney, Daniel T. Gilbert and Timothy D. Wilson wrote, the paper’s authors wrote that: "At worst, people may be envious and resentful of those who have had an extraordinary experience, and at best, they may find themselves with little to talk about.

"If an experience turns you into someone who has nothing in common with others, then no matter how good it was, it won't make you happy in the long run."

So the next time you’re about to post a picture of you having “the best time ever”, think about your poor friends back home who are just getting up for work.

Posted by Anne Jones

Published 01 Sep 2014

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