—People visit social networking sites such as Facebook for many reasons, including the positive emotional experience that people enjoy and want to repeat, according to a new study

Measurements of physical and psychological responses such as breathing rate, brain activation, and pupil dilation, designed to assess a person's psychophysiological state, were collected in a group of individuals participating in either a relaxing or stressful task or being online on their own personal Facebook account. The results revealed a significantly different experience for stress or relaxation exposure compared to the response to Facebook.

You can read the journal article online here

Source: EurekAlert (Press Release)