Social media and wellbeing

An interesting article published today, The warped self, is a slightly more in-depth than usual explanation of how social media affects psychological wellbeing:

"New advances in computational neuroscience…are poised to shed light on this matter. The architecture of some social media platforms takes the form of what some scientists are now calling ‘hyperstimulators’ – problematic digital delivery systems for rewarding and potentially addictive stimuli."

The link between social media use and mental health issues is already well known, of course, but this recent research is showing exactly what it is about social media platforms that causes harm.

As this kind of detail about the activities of the big social media platforms becomes more widely known, I wonder how long it will be before 7 Cups has to cut its links with Facebook and Twitter.

Charlie