One of the most encouraging trends of recent years isn’t a new app or a new platform—it’s the growing number of people choosing to put it all down. More people are waking up to the great toll hours of digital consumption have on our hearts, minds, and spirits. Constant scrolling, endlessly playing video games, and hopping from one short video to the next are wreaking havoc on our ability to focus, our social competence, and our overall mental health.
Some recent findings include a University of Pennsylvania study that showed limiting Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat use to 10 minutes per platform per day led to significant reductions in loneliness and depression over three weeks. Another study at Oregon State University of over 1,500 adults confirmed that heavy social media users were more than twice as likely to feel lonely, regardless of age or background. Social media, as it turns out, isn’t all that social.
