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Facebook can boost the self-esteem of users as the social networking site allows them to project a positive image of themselves, according to a new study by researchers at Cornell University.

The study, which has just been published in the journal 'Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking', required 63 students to sit in front of their computers for three minutes.

Some students faced their personal Facebook page, which they were allowed to surf for three minutes, while others faced either a blank screen or a computer screen against which a mirror was propped.

Once the time had lapsed, the students had to fill in a questionnaire on self-esteem. While the control and mirror groups saw no rise in self-esteem, the Facebook candidates did. And those students who had made a change to their profile during the three minutes gave themselves the highest marks.

Jeffrey Hancock, associate professor of communication at Cornell University and one of the researchers conducting this study, said: 'Unlike a mirror, which reminds us of who we really are and may have a negative effect on self-esteem if that image does not match with our ideal, Facebook can show a positive version of ourselves.

'We're not saying that it's a deceptive version of self, but it's a positive one. For many people, there's an automatic assumption that the Internet is bad. This is one of the first studies to show that there's a psychological benefit of Facebook.'

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