The New York Times (11/24, Barry) reports a study found that “dialing down the use of social media for a week reduced symptoms of anxiety, depression and insomnia in young adults.” The participants were “instructed to stay off social media as much as possible,” and “on average reduced it to a half-hour per day from just under two hours. Before and after, the participants answered surveys measuring depression, anxiety, insomnia, loneliness and a number of problematic social media behaviors.” Researchers observed positive changes among the cohort. On average, “symptoms of anxiety dropped by 16.1 percent; symptoms of depression by 24.8 percent; and symptoms of insomnia by 14.5 percent. The improvement was most pronounced in subjects with more severe depression. At the same time, there was no change in reported loneliness – perhaps, the authors wrote, because the platforms play a constructive social role.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)