Facebook may be hazardous to your mental health. That’s the upshot of new research linking heavy use of the social media network to an increased risk for depression.

The reason: Facebook users who spend a lot of time on the network don’t connect as much with friends, family, and others personally, Medical News Today reports.

What’s more, some of the nearly 900 million people who use Facebook every day may subconsciously compare themselves to others who post only positive status updates — leaving them with symptoms of depression.

Writing in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, researchers from the University of Houston detailed two studies they carried out to conclude social comparison — and isolation — by Facebook users might affect their psychological health.

"It doesn't mean Facebook causes depression, but that depressed feelings and lots of time on Facebook and comparing oneself to others tend to go hand in hand," said lead researcher Mai-Ly Steers, a UH doctoral candidate in social psychology.

The first study, involving 180 participants, found that for both men and women, time spent of Facebook was linked to depressive symptoms. But in men, the researchers found that making Facebook social comparisons affected the link.

In the second study, involving 152 participants, the researchers also found that the link between time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms was affected by social comparisons — and this time there was no difference between men and women.

They suggest their findings show that engaging in social comparisons on social media sites may make people feel worse than when they do it face-to-face, Steers said.

"One danger is that Facebook often gives us information about our friends that we are not normally privy to, which gives us even more opportunities to socially compare," she added.

Facebook friends tend to post the good things that are happening to them — and often leave out the bad things — so when we make our comparisons we are comparing ourselves their "highlight reels," she said. “[This] may lead us to think their lives are better than they actually are and conversely, make us feel worse about our own lives."

Steers says for people who are already distressed and experiencing emotional problems, being faced with this distorted view of their friends' lives may increase feelings of loneliness and isolation.

"This research and previous research indicates the act of socially comparing oneself to others is related to long-term destructive emotions,” she explained. “Any benefit gained from making social comparisons is temporary and engaging in frequent social comparison of any kind may be linked to lower well-being."