Facebook stress: Adding your boss or parents as a friend increases anxiety ... - Mirror.co.uk

Adding your boss or your parents as a friend on Facebook increases our stress levels, a new report reveals.

The anxiety arises due to  "social landmines" - when we post comments about drinking or smoking or ones that include swearing.

These posts are intended to be seen by your usual friendship group but may cause offence to other social spheres, such as parents.

The more groups of people there are in your collection of online friends, the greater the potential for causing offence.

A total of 55% of parents follow their children online and 50% of firms have not hired someone due to their online profile, the University of Edinburgh found.

Researchers also noted that, on average, people are online friends with seven different social circles.

The most common group was friends known offline, followed by extended family and siblings. Friends of friends and colleagues were other groups people were likely to connect with online.

The report also found that more people are online friends with their former partners than with their current partners.

Only 56% of users were pals with their boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse online, compared with 64% of exes.

A third of people used privacy settings to control the information seen by different types of friends on their profile.

Report author Ben Marder, an early career fellow in marketing at the business school, said: "Facebook used to be like a great party for all your friends where you can dance, drink and flirt.

"But now, with your mum, dad and boss there, the party becomes an anxious event full of potential social landmines."

The report was compiled by researchers from the University of Edinburgh Business School, who surveyed more than 300 Facebook users.

Those taking part in the study were mostly students with an average age of 21.