As if it wasn’t bad enough to be ignored in person. According to
this article, it turns out that being ignored in the virtual
universe of the internet is just as bad. People who are excluded
by others online, such as on Facebook, may feel just as bad as
if they had been excluded in person, according to researchers at
Penn State and Misericordia University. “If you’ve ever felt bad
about being ‘ignored’ on Facebook you’re not alone,” said Joshua
Smyth, professor of biobehavioral health and of medicine at Penn
State. “Facebook — with its approximately 800 million users —
serves as a place to forge social connections; however, it is
often a way to exclude others without the awkwardness of a face-
to-face interaction. Most people would probably expect that
being ignored or rejected via a remote source like the Internet
would not hurt as much as being rejected in person. Yet, our
studies show that people may experience similar psychological
reactions to online exclusion as they do with face-to-face
exclusion.” Smyt