10/08/2023
The research looked at how wellbeing changed in 72 countries as use of the social media platform grew.
It counters the common belief that social media is psychologically harmful, the researchers argue.
Several countries, including the UK, are considering legislation to protect social media users from online harms.
Meta, which owns Facebook, has faced scrutiny following testimony from whistle-blowers and press reports based on leaks that suggested the company's own research pointed to negative impacts on some users.
This research only looked at Facebook and not Meta's other platforms, which include Instagram.
Prof Andrew Przybylski, of the OII, told the BBC the study tried to answer the question: "As countries become more saturated with social media, how does the wellbeing of their populations look?"
He said: "It's commonly thought that this is a bad thing for wellbeing. And the data that we put together, and the data that we analysed didn't show that that was the case."