“Much has been written about the increase in loneliness and isolation that has accompanied the internet. This is said to be caused by shallow online friendships which are no substitute for genuine relationships. Being exposed to the heavily curated lives of others on social media has also been found to create feelings of depression and anxiety in some people.
A recent academic study provides a more nuanced view, revealing that rather than leading to misery, the internet has made people happier. This is especially the case for the elderly and those with health problems who would otherwise have limited contact with a wider community. “
I’ve long argued that the studies showing people who use the internet were more likely to be depressed were not catching the whole picture. Clearly it’s not just internet usage, but how we are connecting with others online that is impacting our mental health. I like that this study shows us that there are people out there using the internet to connect to others and improve their lives.
So I’ve seen a number of the techie folks writing about how they’re removing their Facebook profiles, due to various policies of the Facebook team, or the lack of stability in some of the features, etc. I can’t say that I agree with everything the Facebook folks do, nor am I in love with all…
Derek Thompson has the details of his own look at Twitter engagement numbers over at the Atlantic. Is the social web just a matrix of empty shares, of hollow generosity? As Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile once said (on Twitter), there is “effectively no correlation between social shares and people actually reading.” People read without sharing,…
So what did I miss over the weekend? Angela enjoyed her birthday weekend. Thanks to the handful of folks who got through the site troubles here to wish her a happy birthday. I appreciate it! She had her own thanks to them on her site, but I wanted to thank Steven, Josh, Frank, Gene and…
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