this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2026
14 points (79.2% liked)

Ask Lemmy

36769 readers
1185 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

There is a growing scientific controversy about the negative impact of social media on teenagers mental health, and even adults. Social media companies deny these claims. Billions of dollars are at stake.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania found using social media increases depression and loneliness:

https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/social-media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness

But a recent scientific study from Manchester University found that social media has no negative impact on mental health:

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/time-spent-on-gaming-and-social-media/

This contradicts another study from Harvard University that found a social media detox improves well-being and reduces anxiety:

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/12/social-media-detox-boosts-mental-health-but-nuances-stand-out/

What's your opinion on this matter?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] disregardable@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

There's a reason that the answer to any problem is never "Go on facebook more". I don't think there's a controversy at all. Some people can manage a healthy balance and some people can't.