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Science journal says Facebook experiment 'a concern'
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) July 03, 2014


Heavy Twitter use bad for marriage: study
Washington (AFP) July 03, 2014 - Heavy Twitter use can lead to conflicts and other damaging effects on marriages and romantic relationships, a study said Thursday.

The study followed up on previous research which showed similar impacts for Facebook and raises questions about whether social network use in general is bad for relationships.

The study appearing in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found that "active Twitter use leads to greater amounts of Twitter-related conflict among romantic partners, which in turn leads to infidelity, breakup, and divorce."

The author, University of Missouri doctoral researcher Russell Clayton, concluded that these findings add to the evidence about social network use's dark side for personal relationships.

Clayton's research published in the same journal last year found that a high level of Facebook usage was associated with "negative relationship outcomes."

The journal's editor-in-chief Brenda Wiederhold said these findings highlight the need for more study on social network use.

"Since much of the social networking research is in its infancy, we do not know if other media, such as Instagram will also impact relationships in a negative way," she said in a statement.

The latest study surveyed 581 adult Twitter users, asking about how often they use the social network and about what conflicts arose between participants' current or former partners as a result of Twitter use.

Clayton found that the more often a respondent reported being active on Twitter, the more likely they were to experience Twitter-related conflict with a partner.

The results "partially replicate" Clayton's earlier research on Facebook use and negative relationship outcomes, he wrote.

"Based on the findings from both studies, Twitter and Facebook use can have damaging effects on romantic relationships," he said in the study.

"That is, when (social networking) use becomes problematic in one's romantic relationship, risk of negative relationship outcomes may follow."

The scientific journal that published a controversial Facebook experiment on mood manipulation said Thursday it was concerned that the company did not follow scientific ethics and principles of informed consent.

While it stopped short of retracting the study, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said it typically publishes experiments that have allowed subjects to opt out of research.

Facebook appeared to have been exempt from this rule because all users agree to a policy on data use when they open an account, constituting informed consent for research, according to PNAS.

"Based on the information provided by the authors, PNAS editors deemed it appropriate to publish the paper," said a statement by editor-in-chief Inder Verma.

"It is nevertheless a matter of concern that the collection of the data by Facebook may have involved practices that were not fully consistent with the principles of obtaining informed consent and allowing participants to opt out."

The journal explained that the US government protects those who participate in research by establishing best practices that scientists obtain informed consent and allowing subjects to opt out, a policy known as the Common Rule.

It said that Cornell University reviewers determined ahead of publication that Facebook's experiment did not fall under the government's human research protection program because it was conducted for internal purposes.

"Adherence to the Common Rule is PNAS policy, but as a private company, Facebook was under no obligation to conform to the provisions of the Common Rule when it collected the data used by the authors, and the Common Rule does not preclude their use of the data," Verma said.

- 'Messed with minds ' -

PNAS's statement followed a formal complaint filed by privacy activists to US regulators seeking an urgent investigation.

In its complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Privacy Information Center said the study -- which has been widely criticized online -- deceived consumers and violated an agreement on privacy settings.

"The company purposefully messed with people's minds," the complaint said.

It said that Facebook's manipulation of users' news feeds to elicit positive and negative emotional responses also "failed to follow standard ethical protocols for human subject research."

The complaint asked the US regulatory agency to investigate, to order a halt to any similar practices and to require Facebook to make public its algorithm used for the news feed.

An FTC spokesman declined to comment on the complaint.

The privacy group, which joined other groups in complaints in 2009 and 2010 that led to Facebook's 20-year agreement with the FTC on privacy, said that the huge social network did not get users' permission to conduct the study and failed to notify participants that their data would be disclosed to researchers.

The complaint came a day after British authorities announced an investigation over the Facebook experiment.

Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg apologized for communicating "terribly" about the research and maintained that "we take privacy at Facebook really seriously."

The social network clandestinely altered the emotional content of feeds of nearly 700,000 users, giving some sadder news and others happier news in the 2012 study aimed at better understanding "emotional contagion."

The research, published last month, prompted online anger and questions about the ethics of the study, and put the world's most popular networking site on the defensive.

A 2012 settlement with the FTC prohibits Facebook from misrepresenting the privacy or security of its data.

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