The study includes the results of five separate studies conducted with a total of more than 1,000 US Facebook users.
In the researchers' initial study, participants completed surveys about how closely they're connected to friends on Facebook.
They were then split into two groups: one group that wrote about the experience of browsing Facebook and another group that actually browsed Facebook. Both groups then completed a self-esteem survey.
The participants with weak ties to Facebook friends did not experience an increase in self-esteem, but those with strong ties to friends had an enhanced sense of self-esteem.
