There is no evidence to suggest using Facebook is detrimental to wellbeing, Oxford scientists have said, challenging the view that the social media platform is linked to psychological harm. Researchers from the University’s Oxford Internet Institute analysed data from nearly a million people across 72 countries over 12 years – in the largest study of its kind – to understand more about the impact of Facebook on wellbeing. Professor Andrew Przybylski, who co-led the research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, said: “We examined the best available data carefully – and found they did not support the idea that Facebook membership is related to harm – quite the opposite. “In fact, our analysis indicates Facebook is possibly related to positive well-being.” The research looked at Facebook data from 2008 to 2019, going back to when the platform was in its early stages. “We examined 72 countries’ per capita active Facebook users in males and females in two age brackets, 13-34 years and 35+ years,” the researchers said. The results also showed the association between using Facebook and wellbeing was slightly more positive for males as well as for younger people. Writing in the research paper, the authors said: “Although reports of negative psychological outcomes associated with social media are common in academic and popular writing, evidence for harms is, on balance, more speculative than conclusive.” Professor Matti Vuorre, also of the Oxford Internet Institute, who co-led the study, said: “Our findings should help guide the debate surrounding social media towards more empirical research foundations. “We need more transparent collaborative research between independent scientists and the technology industry to better determine how, when and why modern online platforms might be affecting their users.” Commenting on the study, Peter Etchells, professor of psychology and science communication at Bath Spa University, said: “This is a fascinating study that attempts to link Facebook uptake with measures of mental wellbeing in a broad-strokes manner, using data from over 70 countries. “Contrary to popular sentiment, the researchers didn’t find a negative association between the two; instead, it was generally the case that there were positive associations between country-level Facebook uptake and mental wellbeing. “To my mind, the value in this study lies in proof of principle – it demonstrates that it’s possible to leverage industry data to address meaningful questions about how digital technology interacts with our mental health.” But Prof Etchells said there were some caveats associated with the findings – which the study authors have addressed. He said: “This is a descriptive study, and as such cannot tell us anything about causation – that is, we don’t know how, if, or to what extent, changes in Facebook adoption drive changes in mental wellbeing. “Wellbeing is a complex phenomenon, and even in the context of social media use, we need to be careful drawing any firm conclusions by looking at how people use a single platform such as Facebook.” Read More Move fast and beat Musk: The inside story of how Meta built Threads Japan's tech investor SoftBank trims losses and promises offensive turnaround Chatbots sometimes make things up. Not everyone thinks AI's hallucination problem is fixable Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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People are getting less happy with their cars – and it appears to be the fault of new technology and design innovations, according to landmark research. Customer satisfaction is falling with people pointing to a range of issues including the exterior design of the car. But particular frustration is with infotainment systems, with people turning away from them as ways of listening to music and get around. Only 56 per cent of car owners prefer to use their car’s in-built system to play audio, for instance, down from 70 per cent in 2020. Less than half of car owners prefer to use integrated systems for functions like phone calls, voice recognition and navigation. Instead, users are presumably using external systems such as their phones. In recent years, technologies such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have made it possible to mirror those screens, rather than use the built-in and often complicated software provided by car manufacturers. That is according to the US Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study, run by JD Power. It is the first time in the 28 year history of the study that customer satisfaction has fallen two years in a row – and could point to a range of issues in the car market. Satisfaction is counted on a 1000-point scale. This year, it was measured at 845, which was down two points from last year, and three points from the year before. “The decline in consecutive years might look small, but it’s an indicator that larger issues may lie under the surface,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at JD Power, in a statement. “Despite the technology and design innovations that manufacturers put into new vehicles, owners are lukewarm about them. While innovations like charging pads, vehicle apps and advanced audio features should enhance an owner’s experience, this is not the case when problems are experienced. “This downward trajectory of satisfaction should be a warning sign to manufacturers that they need to better understand what owners really want in their new vehicles.” The survey also found a decline in satisfaction with some tech focused car companies. Tesla remains one of the higher performing brands but saw its score at 878, down nine points from last year, when the company was first included in the study. The study was based on almost 85,000 owners of new cars who were surveyed after owning the vehicle for 90 days. It ran between February and May of this year. Read More ChatGPT will now know who you are and what you want Rumours are growing about some bad iPhone news Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain