There's always somebody worse off.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Controlling emotions - Brief article

When people are in a bad mood, they are more likely to search social networking sites like Facebook to find friends who are doing even worse than they are, maintains a study in the journal Computers in Human Behavior. Researchers found that, in general, people use social media to connect with people who are posting positive and success-oriented updates "but, when people are in a negative mood, they start to show more interest in the less attractive, less successful people on their social media sites," says study coauthor Silvia Westerwick.

These findings give more context to recent studies that found people who spend a lot of time on Facebook tend to be more frustrated, angry, and lonely--presumably because of all the happy updates from friends that make them feel inadequate.

"People have the ability to manage how they use social media," says...