A recent study with an unsurprising result - limiting social media use in students leads to decreased anxiety and depression. This and other studies like it are pointing to the same conclusion - that our obsession with driving engagement has a negative impact on our collective mental health. This is a problem created by the tech industry, and something the industry has to take responsibility to fix.

After a week of baseline monitoring, 143 undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania were randomly assigned to either limit Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat use to 10 minutes, per platform, per day, or to use social media as usual for three weeks. Results: The limited use group showed significant reductions in loneliness and depression over three weeks compared to the control group. Both groups showed significant decreases in anxiety and fear of missing out over baseline, suggesting a benefit of increased self-monitoring.