More Facebook Friends, More Stress

The more Facebook friends you have, the more likely you are to feel stressed out by the social networking site, according to a study published by psychologists from Edinburgh Napier University. The scientists quizzed 200 students on their use of the site, and concluded that for a significant number the negative effects of Facebook outweighed the benefits of staying in touch with friends and family.

According to the survey:

• 12% of respondents said that Facebook made them feel anxious. Of these, respondents had an average of 117 friend each. The remaining 88% of respondents, who said that Facebook did not make them feel anxious, had an average of 75 friends each.

• 63% delayed replying to friend requests

• 32% said rejecting friend requests led to feelings of guilt and discomfort

• 10% admitted disliking receiving friend requests.

SocNet Publishers Drive Display Ad Market

Social networking publishers were responsible for 34% of online display ads viewed in the US during December 2010 - a figure that is up 48% from 23% a year earlier, according to a new white paper from comScore called "The 2010 US Digital Year in Review."

Meanwhile, portals served 17% of display ad impressions during 2010, a 19% decline from 21% in December 2009. Entertainment publishers saw their volume of display ad impressions rise 10% year-over-year in December 2010, from 10% to 11%.

2010 also saw a continuing shift of advertising dollars online as more major brand advertisers continued to invest in the medium. In Q4 2010, 104 different advertisers delivered more than 1 billion display ad impressions, up 30% from 80 in Q4 2009. Nearly all the growth (78 advertisers, or 75% of the total) came from those delivering between 1-3 billion impressions, while the number of advertisers delivering at least 3 billion remained more consistent.