YSK that Stanford scientists examined what happens when people stop using social media. They found deactivating Facebook and Instagram significantly improved users' emotional well-being and happiness

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• proudblond@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Can attest. Dropped Facebook in like 2016 and am not on anything else aside from Lemmy. I constantly felt like I wasn’t measuring up to people’s perfect family pictures and exciting vacations, even though I knew intellectually that their pictures were posed and their lives were edited for social media. The world still sucks but at least I feel less inadequate.

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  • nixon@sh.itjust.works ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Lemmy is the only platform I engage with. I closed down or abandoned all other platforms around the same time you did. My quality of life has greatly improved since, though I do still miss certain aspects sometimes.

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    • dditty@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I deleted my FB, Instagram, and Twitter when I joined the fediverse in June of 2023. So far the only thing I miss are FB event invites. Now my friends have to specially message me for events they put together. Otherwise it’s been a great change.

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• pelespirit@sh.itjust.works ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but could Meta actually bully/bribe Stanford to change the figures?

  Asking questions about who’s paying for the study isn’t being a conspiracy theorist. Especially Meta, they’re evil af. They seem to be cautious as well.

  This project is part of the U.S. 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study (Gonz´alez- Bail´on et al. 2023; Guess et al. 2023a,b; Nyhan et al. 2023; Allcott et al. 2024), a partnership between Meta researchers and unpaid independent academics. Under the terms of the collab- oration, the independent academic authors had final authority over the pre-analysis plan, data analysis, and manuscript text, and Meta could not block any results from being published. More details of this partnership are in Appendices E and F. We have posted answers to frequently asked questions online at this website.

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• Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Duh. I hope this was privately funded.

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• Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I did that over a decade ago… Should I re-sign up and quit again?

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  • krooklochurm@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    As someone else that isn’t part of the shirts here - do you also find it jarring when suddenly all these people you meet suddenly have all the same opinion about something?

    Like. Even people you’ve known for a long time. Suddenly they care about this thing, and people you know that have never met each other suddenly feel the same way.

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• ada@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I experienced this when I got rid of facebook (or more accurately, when I wouldn’t provide them with my ID to get my account unlocked).
  
  But the other side of it is that a lot of the social groups that I was involved with, and a lot of my contact with my friends, was done through facebook, and my real world social life has been impacted by losing facebook.

  I still wouldn’t go back, but it’s a first hand example of just how wide the facebook network effect can reach.

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  • Apytele@sh.itjust.works ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    This is why I opted for the keep messenger option when I deactivated my account. I have so many people even just from old jobs and while I can get a job pretty much anywhere I apply (that offers my specialty) and be working within a month, that comes with having to vet employers / weed out sketchy facilities. So I need to be able to message old coworkers and be like “hey do you know anyone who’s worked at <place>? That 10k sign on bonus is SUS” and have them be like “yeah 20 got fired after the state inspection, they were reusing paper iso gowns and billing for surgeries their sister hospital in the city was doing to get the Medicaid incentive for providing rural care.”

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  • aceshigh@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Were they your good friends to begin with?

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    • ada@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Friends was probably the wrong word. What I was really referring to is community and social events. My good friends are still there in my life, but the broader queer community is now harder to connect with, and lots of social events and meetups that are happening in my city happen without me even knowing.

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• BanMe@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Yeah I got back on FB after a 10-year absence for my nonprofit, and then Insta. Went as far as downloading the apps to my phone. Within 1 week my mood and productivity had completely collapsed. I was just sitting there slumped into my chair, like I was hooked up to an IV drug or something. I used to do the same with Reddit to an extent, and being banned there was actually good for me. Now I am - well that nonprofit, I started with all the time I wasn’t wasting on Reddit. Fuck all that dopamine-addicted noise. I’m quitting weed this Christmas break, I want all my neurotransmitters back.

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• SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The only reason why I started to doomscroll social media, is because I want to keep tabs on how close my nation is to having a civil war. If it is to happen, I don’t want to be completely surprised, and have some agency at my level.

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  • aceshigh@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    … can’t you put a google alert on that?

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    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      The revolution will not be televised.

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    • LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      “Hey Google, notify me when alpaca lips.”

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    • SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I distrust Google and the mainstream media. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if they simply ally with the Trump Regime, and remain silent about ICE death squads seeking out Democrats or something along those lines.

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• damnthefilibuster@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  The problem with the tobacco analogy is that you can buy a pack of cigarettes and walk away, then study it at peace. You cannot run any kind of testing on the shithole systems of Meta without their permission and involvement. That’s how you know every such independent study will be tainted by Zuck’s dirty hands.

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• Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Damn! I’ve never had Instagram and i haven’t opened Facebook in five years. So why aren’t I happy?

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  • Xella@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I believe being on Lemmy causes unhappiness as well. We need to stop using all forms of social media. Today is my birthday and as a birthday present to myself I’m uninstalling all social media on my phone by midnight. I’m just getting my last few fixes in before I do it 😹

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    • kinship@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I don’t think the problem is social media but the curation of them. It is very rare to see something that shocks me on a bad way through my feed. Just like in our lives we need to build around us, the problem is that most social media won’t let us. Taking charge in life is very hard, capitalism profits a lot on convenience.

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    • 200ok@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Happy birthday ❤️

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    • sep@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Congratulations! I hope you never read this!

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  • clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    That’s me, too.

    I use Facebook twice a year and I don’t have accounts anywhere else but Lemmy. I don’t think I use this as Social Media in the usual sense. I’m not following individual people because I don’t care who y’all are. Only your content. I’m not posting stuff about myself because I’m boring as heck.

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    • sakuraba@lemmy.ml ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Cool but are you doomscrolling on lemmy?

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  • TheBat@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Try going to maid cafe. It’s silly and endearing.

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  • howrar@lemmy.ca ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    It could’ve been worse

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• 0485919158191@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I discovered this about a decade ago when I deleted all my socials. Now I only use Lemmy and follow topics I’m genuinely interested in!

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  • krooklochurm@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Removing Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, corpo-controlled media in general from my life was so freeing. Suddenly I wasn’t comparing myself to anyone else. Their lives weren’t in my faces all the fucking time.

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• thenose@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I deleted the apps. I don’t visit those sites in alternative ways but I crave it man. I miss doom scrolling and I ended up on yt shorts. Way less of the time and my field seems to avoid viral trends so I guess it’s my nicotine patch: I still do it’s just not that harmful I guess. How are you guys dealing with it? Do you consider lemmy ass addictive/harmful as the mainstream socials?

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  • Hegz@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Personally I find there to be less new daily content on lemmy, so it ends up self limiting as I see the same posts again. Might just be what I’m subbed to, and or how I sort. But I do end up spending less time here than I did reddit, or I currently do on youtube.

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    • Rooster326@programming.dev ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I think it comes down to an insufficient user base than is required to get the previous fix of social media.

      This was a problem in the early days of Facebook as well…

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  • Xella@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    I struggle. I love social media. Lemmy adds to the depression because somehow every post is political and I get to see all the bad things the government is doing every day. I’m shutting it all down. If I need a social fix I can play an MMO lol

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    • Rooster326@programming.dev ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      NGL. You had me till the last line.

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  • paequ2@lemmy.today ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Leechblock and unhook are required browser extensions for me.

    YouTuber is extra tricky because I can easily convince myself that I’m not wasting time, I’m “learning”. Even though I doubt I’ll ever need to know how to build a mud hut with a secret swimming pool underneath…

    In general, I found if I remove the addictive elements from YouTube or whatever, as opposed to blocking the website entirely, I’m more likely to stick to being sober. I treat my phone the same way, I use YAM Launcher to help remove distractions.

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  • pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Get yourself extensions to block youtube shorts and convert it to regular videos. Use phone apps to do the same, I believe revanced and grayjay both do this

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  • fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Do you consider lemmy **ass **addictive/harmful as the mainstream socials?

    That’s a very funny typo. But also kinda relevant. Lemmy’s sorting “algorithm” is just a very basic sort. There’s no personal tuning, just basic “does this post have more activity than this other one” so it’s as un addictive as it can get really. Short of purposefully trying to be bad.

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    • Rooster326@programming.dev ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yes but since its users are just reposting from sites trained on said algorithms. There is certainly a “trickle down” effect.

      Posts that weren’t popular on Reddit, or on the news website aren’t going to be seen and then posted here…

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  • sudoer777@lemmy.ml ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Lemmy is a lot less addictive for me than personalized algorithm-driven TikTok/Reels/Shorts type stuff and has better quality content, but there’s also a lot less content. I blocked Instagram and other apps on my phone and now I ended up on YT shorts on my computer also

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• spittingimage@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I’ve never had Instagram, but I noticed an improvement in my mood after dropping Facebook and Reddit.

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• lechekaflan@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Obviously yes, because once removed from social media an individual stops being compared against and forced into FOMO.

  Otherwise it takes some technical skill to curate experiences in social media, like choosing whom to actually follow and interact, keeping only truly best friends, limiting how much personal information is given to Zuck, and using plugins and scripts to control how much actual content is being shown. As someone who lived with a dumb phone for a long time until 2012, it’s disgusting but is a necessary evil I have to be on social media in some form (not using my deadname), because the majority of the clients I have to deal with are mostly on Facebook Messenger nearly all the time.

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• ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Clean since 2014, you betcha it’s nice

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  • captainlezbian@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Around 2010 I realized the more I saw of my casual acquaintances the less I liked them and quit. I didn’t make many great decisions at 16 but that was one

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• ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Social media is just ragebait for me, lol. I have a Facebook account that I haven’t used since 2015 and that’s it. 🤷

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  • baronvonj@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    But … you’re commenting here … on a social media platform …

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    • ArgumentativeMonotheist@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Nah, this is a pseudonymous discussion forum, where ideas are discussed, an online space format that predates what we know as “social media”. The mechanics and content are very different!

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• Goretantath@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  “Science once again proves common sense correct.”

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• Dagnet@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Can confirm, social media was making me depressed

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• starlinguk@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I have anything to do with news switched off and only follow crafters, local event announcements, nature photographers and close friends. Why would quitting FB or Insta make any difference?

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• Mac@mander.xyz ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  This might be unpopular but i genuinely believe it is our responsibility to be aware of the horrors.

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  • pelespirit@sh.itjust.works ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Please don’t get your news from Facebook.

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    • Mac@mander.xyz ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Oh, i see your a Lemmy user and therefore you must be a tankie. Go back to ml/grad

      If your sources of news relies on platform then i have bad news for you…

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  • SuiXi3D@fedia.io ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    That was my first thought. Ignorance is bliss.

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  • Perspectivist@feddit.uk ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Anyone who thinks you can avoid hearing about “the horrors” by leaving social media hasn’t tried leaving social media. This stuff is unavoidable. The only little control you have over it is the sheer volume of it that you wish to get firehosed by on a daily basis.

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    • Mac@mander.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      I don’t hear about any of it when I’m offline, but sure.

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  • sudoer777@lemmy.ml ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Except then it makes you too depressed to do anything and now people are complaining that you’re burdening them with your being depressed

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• Rhaedas@fedia.io ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I'm just on FB for the Messenger, maximized to ignore the rest, since they make it all but impossible to use their network with third parties. Hmmm, sounds like Reddit now that I think about it, but FB did that move first. The hardest part of changing social media or any communications is getting the ones you want to stay connected with to use better alternatives. Again with the Reddit comparison, but look at how many stick with that still rather than branching out to a new thing like Lemmy. Or encrypted email.

  But I agree with the title suggestion, any immersion of a single thing is damaging, and social media is by its nature and design addictive. If you can't control your intake, you should avoid what you can altogether.

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• Rooster326@programming.dev ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  [deleted]

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  • quick_snail@feddit.nl ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Gay?

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    • sudoer777@lemmy.ml ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      My instagram has a lot of gay stuff and a lot of fake stuff so sure

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• homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  Image

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• aceshigh@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

  I haven’t used social media since 2011. Personally I don’t see the draw because it all lacks authenticity.

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  • supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    This is social media!

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    • aceshigh@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      This is forums not social media. Anonymous conversations on topics that I’m interested in. I’m not following anyone and I don’t see anyone’s history.

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