Facebook and Longevity

Just between you and me it seems I’m spending way too much time on Facebook these days. But it just dawned on me:  if I’m a little smarter about the way I use Facebook, it could be a real benefit in my quest for a longer, happy life.

Lots of research into longevity (the science of living a long, healthy life) suggests that quality and quantity of our relationships play a fundamental role. “The benefit of friends, family and even colleagues turns out to be just as good for long-term survival as giving up a 15-cigarette-a-day smoking habit. And by the study’s numbers, interpersonal social networks are more crucial to physical health than exercising or beating obesity. A meta-study covering more than 300,000 participants across all ages reveals that adults get a 50 percent boost in longevity if they have a solid social network.” As published in Scientific American

Obviously, the most beneficial relationships are those that are supportive, frequent, and face-to-face, but these may be harder to come by. It’s certainly been a challenge for me, especially cultivating and maintaining the face-to-face relationships. Fortunately, I have a very supportive, intimate relationship (with Victoria) …the best I can imagine, but I can see huge benefits from making improvements in my social network.

That’s why I’m looking to improve my Facebook participation. I’ve got some new rules for myself:

• Post no more than once per day.
• Post no less than once per week.
• Post only what I think will help or support my friends, even if it’s only to give them a smile
• Limit my Facebook checks to twice per day and only check posts from Close Friends.
• Don’t respond at all to posts that I disagree with.

Finally, some really good advice from Seth Godin on using our time more effectively.

BTW, if you and I aren’t already Close Friends on Facebook, maybe we should be.  Maybe it’s worth a dance or two.  Mark me as a  Close Friend, let me know you’ve done that, and I’ll make you a Close Friend at my end.  You’ll get an email notice whenever I post (which isn’t that often), and I’ll get a notice when you post.  Let’s make good things happen on Facebook!