Participants were measurably happier and less anxious.
But, disappointingly, not by a huge margin:
Perhaps this is due to the fact a significant number of users switched to less harmful online platforms and didn’t stop using their phones.
Or perhaps there is actually something more sinister. My real concern with this study is the involvement of Meta.
We actually have evidence that Meta halted internal research about social media:
Would you study tobacco and have tobacco companies involved?
Would you study obesity and have Coca-Cola involved?
I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could Meta actually bully/bribe Stanford in order to change the figures?
Social media is just ragebait for me, lol. I have a Facebook account that I haven’t used since 2015 and that’s it. 🤷
But … you’re commenting here … on a social media platform …
Nah, this is a pseudonymous discussion forum, where ideas are discussed, an online space format that predates what we know as “social media”. The mechanics and content are very different!