Every month, 1.79 billion people actively use the social media site Facebook. On average, each user spends 50 minutes a day using the site. This is not a staggering statistic until you contrast time spent participating in other leisure activities.
In the U.S., Americans spend just 19 minutes, on average, reading each day and just 17 minutes on exercise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So the nearly one hour spent on Facebook is significant; it's about the same amount of time spent eating and drinking (just over one hour).
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A study out of Denmark concluded that excessive time spent on Facebook can negatively affect one's well-being and create "unrealistic social comparisons." Facebook users who took a one-week break from the site reported significantly higher levels of life satisfaction and reported significantly improved emotional life.
If you're a regular Facebook user interested in increasing your well-being, you may consider significantly limiting your usage or quitting the site for good. The researchers suggested making adjustments in your usage behavior could be enough to prompt positive change. Consider downloading an app like Moment or BreakFree to help you track and reduce the amount of time you spend on social media sites each day.