Do Websites Like Facebook Pose Health Risks?

Social networking sites, like Facebook, may be a cause of stress

Facebook, and similar social networking sites like MySpace and Twitter, allow users to post personal information about themselves, including pictures, relationship status, and personal status updates. For some users, finding certain information can be physically harmful.

According to information found in The Lancet, a young man experienced several asthma attacks after looking into Facebook.

Seeing his girlfriend’s information on Facebook, the 18 year old man experienced breathing troubles, and then suffered multiple asthma attacks. The girlfriend of the man in question deleted information about being in a relationship and became friendly with additional young men.

Unable to cope, the young man created a new Facebook account to find more information about his now ex-girlfriend. After logging into her profile, he experienced breathing troubles again, but only when viewing her profile information or pictures.

Dr. Gennaro D’Amata explains the cause of the asthma attacks to be directly related to viewing the girl’s pictures.

Experts explain social networking sites, including Facebook, may be a new cause of psychological stress for some individuals.