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Is Social Media A Key To Living A Longer Life?

SAN DIEGO (CBS13) – A new UC San Diego study found that social media can help you live longer.

The study was based on 12 million social media profiles that Facebook made available to the researchers, along with records from California's Department of Health.

Researchers found that "people with more friends online are less likely to die than their disconnected counterparts." The risk of dying in a given year was about 12 percent less for Facebook users compared to non-users, the study found.

The number of friends, photos, status updates, messages and friend requests were measures used in the study.

Researchers stress that the activity should maintain and enhance interactions offline.

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