Scientists have found that students who cut social media use to 30 minutes per day can see significant reduction in anxiety, depression, and loneliness, an advance that can lead to better mental health interventions. A growing body of research in recent years has shown that an increase in social media use among young people is linked to their declining mental health. Researchers at Iowa State University assessed this link further in a two-week experiment with 230 college students. Half of the participants were asked to limit their social media usage to 30 minutes a day, and received automated, daily reminders. The study, published in the journal Technology, Mind, and Behavior, found that this group of participants scored significantly lower for anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing out at the end of the experiment compared to the control group. These participants also appeared to have a brighter outlook on life, scoring higher for “positive affect,” which the researchers describe as “the tendency to experience positive emotions described with words such as ‘excited’ and ‘proud.’” “It surprised me to find that participants’ well-being did not only improve in one dimension but in all of them. I was excited to learn that such a simple intervention of sending a daily reminder can motivate people to change their behavior and improve their social media habits,” study co-author Ella Faulhaber said. The psychological benefits from cutting back on social media was found to extend even to participants who sometimes exceeded the 30-minute time limit. Scientists suggest it is not about being perfect, but putting in the effort that makes the difference. While previous research has assessed the effects of limiting or abstaining from social media, many of the interventions recommended in these studies require heavy supervision and deleting apps or using special applications to block or limit social media use. “When a perceived freedom is taken away, we start resisting,” says Douglas A. Gentile, another author of the study, who adds that eliminating social media completely may take away some of its benefits like connecting with friends and family. For those looking to cut back on social media use, scientists recommend setting a timer to see how much time one spends on social media. “Recognize that it’s not easy to stick to a time limit. Social media apps are designed to keep you engaged,” researchers said in a statement. However, they urge people not to give up as limiting social media use over time has real benefits for daily life. “We live in an age of anxiety. Lots of indicators show that anxiety, depression, loneliness are all getting worse, and that can make us feel helpless. But there are things we can do to manage our mental health and well-being,” Dr Gentile said. Read More TikTok allowed millions of people to see Canadian ‘helicopter’ wildfire conspiracies Reddit hit by outage as fight over its future escalates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp all stop working Is your WhatsApp group making you anxious? Don’t worry – you’re not alone From a post-truth world to a post-trust world Why suicides among young women are rising at the fastest rate ever

UK Labour and opposition leader Keir Starmer will announce proposals to block all new North Sea oil and

EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

By Aditya Soni Sam Altman's return as OpenAI's chief executive will strengthen his grip on the startup and

NASA has released details from its unidentified anomalous phenomena (a term to describe UFOs that can't be identified) study. When the study started a year ago, NASA set out to identify "how data gathered by civilian government entities, commercial data, and data from other sources can potentially be analysed to shed light on UAPs." They went on to highlight that Thursday's report (14 September) "is not a review or assessment of previous unidentifiable observations." Here are five major things we learned from the 36-page report: NASA should be more proactive when it comes to UFOs The report suggests that the space agency should use better techniques and vices when searching for UAPs. They said the current UAP detection is "often serendipitous," and captured by sensors "that were not designed or calibrated for this purpose, and which lack comprehensive metadata." This means the origin of several UAPs "remain uncertain". "The importance of detecting UAP with multiple, well-calibrated sensors is thus paramount, and accordingly we recommend that Nasa leverage its considerable expertise in this domain to potentially utilize multispectral or hyperspectral data as part of a rigorous data acquisition campaign," they wrote. Many 'credible witnesses' have reported UFOs The report revealed that many "credible" reports of "objects they did not recognise over US airspace" have come through from witnesses, "often military aviators". "Most of these events have since been explained, but a small handful cannot be immediately identified as known human-made or natural phenomena," it read. It noted that one of the problems when it comes to such sightings is that "the data needed to explain these anomalous sightings often do not exist." They added: "This includes eyewitness reports, which on their own can be interesting and compelling, but are not reproducible and usually lack the information needed to make any definitive conclusions." 'No reason to conclude' UFOs are alien While the report disclaimed the galaxy "does not stop at the outskirts of the solar system," it stressed there is "no reason to conclude" that UFO sightings are alien. "Many of NASA's science missions are, at least in part, focused on answering the question of whether life exists beyond Earth," it read. "Those investigations include missions looking for biosignatures, perhaps on Mars or the icy moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn - as well as farther afield, in the ratios of molecules present in exoplanet atmospheres. "Searching for signs of alien technology is a natural extension of those investigations." It adds: "If we recognise the plausibility of any of these, then we should recognise that all are at least plausible." Satellites could potentially be used in the search for aliens "NASA is in an excellent position to contribute to UAP studies within the broader whole-of-government framework," they wrote, going on to explore the potential role of the "US commercial remote-sensing industry" which they say "offers a potent mix of Earth-observing satellites that offer imagery at sub- to several-meter spatial resolution, which is well-matched to the typical spatial scales of known UAP [UFOs]". They continued: "Such commercial constellations could offer a powerful complement to the detection and study of UAP when coincident collection occurs." Artificial intelligence could also help the hunt for aliens "The panel finds that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are essential tools for identifying rare occurrences, potentially including UAP, within vast datasets," they wrote. "However, these powerful techniques will only work on well-characterized data gathered with respect to strong standards." They went on to note that the public "is also a critical aspect of understanding UAP". There's a lot more to learn "The top takeaway from the study is that there is a lot more to learn," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said while releasing the report. "The NASA independent study team did not find any evidence that UAP have an extraterrestrial origin, but we don't know what these UAP are." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 23, 2023--

The German unit of ING Groep NV is rejecting clients that fail to provide credible emissions-reduction plans, according

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--

RIVER FOREST, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

Fans are introduced to the newest protagonist in the franchise and the combat action to expect.

Meta's Threads had a moment in which it seemed it would overtake Twitter in a

UPDATE: May. 19, 2023, 5:00 a.m. EDT This story has been updated with the latest