Study: Some Feel Too Ugly For Facebook

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - "A picture is worth a thousand words" has taken on a new meaning for millions of Facebook users, who admitted avoiding uploading photos and un-tagging themselves because they feel their photos make them feel too fat, old or ugly.

According to the UK Telegraph newspaper, a survey – commissioned by weight loss company LighterLife – revealed that almost one in two people don't like sharing photos on their online profiles on the social media site.

In fact, 14 percent of women remove their names from every picture they are in on Facebook, and 13 percent are taking extreme measures to avoid images of them ending up on the site – they refuse to be photographed altogether.

And rather than using a recognizable photo of themselves as their profile picture, one in 10 people use an avatar, cartoon or a picture of their pet to "save face."

"It's such a shame that people are not choosing to share their Facebook photos, and in extreme circumstances pretending to look like someone they're not," said Sue Dover, a marketing director at the survey company. "It's indicative of the pressure placed on people, particularly young women, in our society to look a certain way that is causing this to happen."

But despite the survey's findings, for the first time Facebook has overtaken Google as the most visited site in the United States for the week ending March 13, reports DigitalJournal.com

Facebook site attracted 7.07 percent of all Internet traffic , edging out Google's 7.03 percent. Google, however, is still tops in the United Kingdom.

Industry analyst Hitwise , said Facebook has reached an "important milestone."

And Facebook's growth rate of 185 percent from the same period last year, versus Google's 9 percent, shows how the Web is being transformed from a search-driven existence to a sea of information pushed by social networks.