Meta closed internal research into the mental health effects of its popular platforms, Facebook and Instagram, after finding causal evidence that its products harmed usersβ mental health, unredacted filings in a class action by U.S. school districts against Meta and other social media giants show.
In a 2020 research project code-named "Project Mercury," Meta scientists worked with survey firm Nielsen to gauge the effect of "deactivating" Facebook and Instagram, according to Meta documents obtained via discovery.
To the companyβs disappointment, "people who stopped using Facebook for a week reported lower feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness and social comparison," internal documents said.
Rather than publishing those findings or pursuing additional research, the f
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