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

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We’ve all been told the story of what wiped out the dinosaurs – a giant meteor careers down from the sky, crashes into Earth and bang! The rest is history. But what if that wasn’t the whole story? A new study suggests there may have been more to it than just an asteroid – and it involves climate change. A chain of huge volcanic eruptions which eventually cooled the planet an alarming amount may have been partially to blame, according to research. The study, published in Science Advances and co-authored by Don Baker, a professor in McGill University's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, suggests that this might be the case. The researchers looked into volcanic eruptions at the Deccan Traps, a huge, rugged plateau that formed when molten lava solidified and turned to rock. The plateau dates back to around 66-65m years ago, when magma from deep inside Earth erupted to the surface. That just so happens to be around the time when scientists think the dinosaurs met their demise. Baker’s team suggest that the eruptions produced a staggering 1m cubic kilometres of lava, which then turned into rock, which may have played a key role in cooling the global climate around 65m years ago. The scientists say it’s all to do with how much sulphur and fluorine was pumped into the atmosphere as a result of the eruptions. Incredibly, they found the event could have sparked a drop in temperature all around the world, dubbed a “volcanic winter”. Baker said: “Our research demonstrates that climatic conditions were almost certainly unstable, with repeated volcanic winters that could have lasted decades, prior to the extinction of the dinosaurs. “This instability would have made life difficult for all plants and animals and set the stage for the dinosaur extinction event. “Thus our work helps explain this significant extinction event that led to the rise of mammals and the evolution of our species.” The scientists worked it out using new chemical techniques developed at McGill to measure how much sulphur is in the rock formations which came about at the time, then from that, figuring out how much went into the atmosphere. The paper is titled “Recurring volcanic winters during the latest Cretaceous: Sulfur and fluorine budgets of Deccan Traps lavas.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to 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.

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