Socially anxious not exuberant on Facebook or in person

For people suffering from social anxiety, chatting with friends on Facebook and meeting them in person may not result in the same rejuvenating experience.

Nearly a billion people use Facebook, the largest social networking site, but interacting with someone on social media is not the same as meeting them face-to-face, a study said.

Researcher Shannon Rauch and colleagues from Arizona-based Benedictine University and Rhode Island-based Providence College evaluated participants for their level of social anxiety.

They exposed each of them to a person via Facebook, a face-to-face encounter, or both.

During the exposure, the researchers measured physiological arousal using the galvanic skin response measure.

"The results indicate that initial exposure to an individual via Facebook may have a negative impact on consequent face-to-face encounters with that individual for those with high social anxiety," said Brenda K. Wiederhold, editor-in-chief of Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking, that published the study.