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Written by Kristen Stokes Smith | Do you have Facebook friends who make you feel bad about yourself? We’re not not talking about cyber bullies. We’re talking about the friends whose humble brags and fabulous pictures leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the fun.

They are Happier and Having Better Lives than I Am” is the title of an article in the Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking Journal. Conducted by Hui-Tsu Grace Chou and Nicholas Edge, this study discusses the link between happiness and Facebook activity. Perhaps it’s no surprise that they discovered people who spent less time socializing on Facebook were not as likely to be unhappy.

Chou and Edge noted that Facebook users tend toward posts that reflect the best moments of their lives. They use Facebook as means of personal PR in which they can create a portrait of their happiest moments. But we know this, right? I mean, on some level, when we’re scrolling through our friends’ pictures and posts, we’re aware that these timelines are carefully crafted stories made from real life events.

Still, these stories are quite compelling. Adult Facebookers and children alike are affected by their activity on this popular social platform. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported in 2011 that children and teenagers can be so taken with uber-positive Facebooking that they develop “Facebook Depression.”

Not to worry if Facebook is a major player in your life and emotional well-being. You’re not alone.

Time reports there’s science behind Facebook’s hold on us. Citing a study by University of California San Diego and University of Scranton, Time says Facebook content by its nature imprints itself on our brains. The study included 280 students who were asked to read 100 sentences pulled from Facebook pages, 100 sentences from books (none of which were more than 25 words long), and a series of human faces. When presented with these images and sentences, the students were most likely to recall the Facebook series. The researchers believe the reason is the “gossipy” tone found in Facebook posts.

How do we break free from Facebook’s hold on us?

Start by taking stock of the time you spend online and go from there. When we find ourselves engaging in the real world with our real-life friends and family, we need to remind ourselves that it’s okay to snap a few pictures to be shared on Facebook. Then, we need to get back into the moment. Facebook sharing can wait, our friends and family may not.