There is no denying the fact that Meta’s Facebook has managed to grow to new heights, establishing a footprint in so many places around the globe.
But would you believe that there’s no proof that the growth of one of the world’s most popular social media apps is directly related to psychological harm?
The research comes to us from the Oxford Internet Institute and which had authors looking at data from nearly 72 different nations that continued to use the popular app. Moreover, the researchers have now gone as far as to admit that this is proof that the belief about social media impacting your mind negatively does not stand true, but exceptions are always there.
Remember, so many countries like the UK are actually putting great emphasis on laws that protect users of social media apps from any kind of harm taking place online.
We’ve seen tech giant Meta be at the center of scrutiny after several whistle-blowers and leaks from the firm put out suggestions that the firm’s own study talked about negative effects on the minds of users.
But this particular study in question only saw the effects of Facebook and not Meta’s other apps like Instagram.
Speaking to the BBC, the authors revealed how the aim was to answer on simple query related to nations becoming more and more saturated with various social media apps but will that negatively impact their wellbeing?
Many people assumed the answer would be yes but this study’s results proved the opposite. In fact, there was actually very little linkage between teen technology and the issues linked to mental health.
But another point worth a mention is how the study solely looked at the effect of the app being used at the national level. So that meant it failed to see the effects on some leading groups or those who are more vulnerable than others.
The results of the study come at a time when the UK is busy putting the final touches on its Online Safety Bill which means it could soon be passed to the parliament and turned into a law. This would provide greater protection to so many individuals suffering from online harm.
What’s interesting is how the Online Safety Bill mainly focuses on providing protection to young kids, more than anyone else. But this study failed to look at minors as a separate group. Instead, it was too general to ever be considered as a main point of arguments for clinical debates.
Facebook provided the data for the research to go ahead and they even gave evidence of how the user growth in every nation continued to grow with time.
As a whole, the authors found that there was no proof of high levels of social media user was related to a downturn in psychological health. Hence, any such rumors on this scenario should be avoided and referenced if there is a conflict of interest, the authors concluded.
Read next: Google Shares New Cellular Security Enhancements For Android 14 To Ensure Better Protection
But would you believe that there’s no proof that the growth of one of the world’s most popular social media apps is directly related to psychological harm?
The research comes to us from the Oxford Internet Institute and which had authors looking at data from nearly 72 different nations that continued to use the popular app. Moreover, the researchers have now gone as far as to admit that this is proof that the belief about social media impacting your mind negatively does not stand true, but exceptions are always there.
Remember, so many countries like the UK are actually putting great emphasis on laws that protect users of social media apps from any kind of harm taking place online.
We’ve seen tech giant Meta be at the center of scrutiny after several whistle-blowers and leaks from the firm put out suggestions that the firm’s own study talked about negative effects on the minds of users.
But this particular study in question only saw the effects of Facebook and not Meta’s other apps like Instagram.
Speaking to the BBC, the authors revealed how the aim was to answer on simple query related to nations becoming more and more saturated with various social media apps but will that negatively impact their wellbeing?
Many people assumed the answer would be yes but this study’s results proved the opposite. In fact, there was actually very little linkage between teen technology and the issues linked to mental health.
But another point worth a mention is how the study solely looked at the effect of the app being used at the national level. So that meant it failed to see the effects on some leading groups or those who are more vulnerable than others.
The results of the study come at a time when the UK is busy putting the final touches on its Online Safety Bill which means it could soon be passed to the parliament and turned into a law. This would provide greater protection to so many individuals suffering from online harm.
What’s interesting is how the Online Safety Bill mainly focuses on providing protection to young kids, more than anyone else. But this study failed to look at minors as a separate group. Instead, it was too general to ever be considered as a main point of arguments for clinical debates.
Facebook provided the data for the research to go ahead and they even gave evidence of how the user growth in every nation continued to grow with time.
As a whole, the authors found that there was no proof of high levels of social media user was related to a downturn in psychological health. Hence, any such rumors on this scenario should be avoided and referenced if there is a conflict of interest, the authors concluded.
Read next: Google Shares New Cellular Security Enhancements For Android 14 To Ensure Better Protection
