What are the advantages and disadvantages of using timestamp updates for tracking user activity in a PHP forum?

Using timestamp updates for tracking user activity in a PHP forum can provide real-time information on when users last interacted with the forum, helping to identify active users and potential issues. However, constantly updating timestamps can put a strain on the database server, especially as the forum grows in size and user activity increases.

// Update user activity timestamp
$user_id = 1; // User ID of the user whose activity is being tracked
$timestamp = time(); // Current timestamp

$query = "UPDATE users SET last_activity = $timestamp WHERE id = $user_id";
$result = mysqli_query($connection, $query);

if($result) {
    echo "User activity timestamp updated successfully";
} else {
    echo "Error updating user activity timestamp";
}