It’s no surprise that news continues to come out about the dangers of social media on psychological wellbeing of users, including a new study from New Curtin University, published in Journal of Affective Disorders.

Researchers found that people with short attention spans and are easily distracted are at more risk to suffer psychological distress and mental health issues from social media use compared those with good attention control..

The study looked a 69 subjects, of age ranging from 18 to 58 years old, and tracked their usage of popular apps. Eye gaze test was used to track the levels of distraction and inattention followed by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale to evaluate mental health wellness.

Researcher and author of the study, Dr. Patrick Clarke, stated, “More time on social media also means less time doing other, possibly more important or more productive tasks, which can also increase feelings of depression and anxiety

“Our research helps to understand who is most at risk from the adverse mental health effects of social media use and suggests that improving attention may minimize those risks.”

It’s hard to determine what your attention span is like, and generally in our current on-demand culture with more distraction than ever, yours most likely is not very good and will probably overestimate your ability.

At Man of Honor, we stand by the belief that social media is garbage and would recommend you avoid it in general.

Mahalingham T et al. Attention control moderates the relationship between social media use and psychological distress. Journal of Affective Disorders 2022. 297; 536-541