Intensions Study: America's Fragile Future
Intensions Study: America's Fragile Future
STUDY FINDS AMERICANS WHO SPEND OVER 4 HOURS PER DAY ONLINE ARE MORE DEPRESSED, ANXIOUS, AND NARCISSISTIC
A new study by Intensions Consulting, a market research firm, and futurist Nikolas Badminton has examined the relationship between social media use and mental health.
The Future of Life study, which surveyed 2,025 United States residents, found that those who spend more than 4 hours (240 minutes) a day on social media, apps, and online platforms, had significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and self-identified narcissism. This is highly-concerning as the average American reported spending 5 hours (301 minutes) a day online.
Intensions Consulting: Americans who spend more than 240 minutes a day online have significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and self-identified narcissism.
“Our study found an association between the amount of time Americans spend online each day and their rates of depression, anxiety, and narcissism. To use a diet analogy, our data suggests that Americans might want to restrict their level of daily digital consumption,” said study lead author Nick Black, Managing Partner at Intensions Consulting.
The study found that of those that spend more than 4 hours online per day:
- 33% had been diagnosed or treated for depression in the past year;
- 33% had been diagnosed or treated for anxiety in the past year;
- 31% self-identified as narcissists (e.g. egotistical, self-focused, vain).
According to futurist and study co-author Nikolas Badminton, “Parasitic apps and platforms have created a craving for ‘likes’, ‘loves’, ‘shares’ and comments. Humanity is now at a turning-point where we must see this algorithmically-guided behavior as being harmful to society. We need to demand that the companies providing these services put functionality in place to encourage moderate-to-low usage.”
ABOUT THE FUTURE OF LIFE STUDY
These are findings from an Intensions Consulting study conducted between January 20, 2020 and January 28, 2020. For this study a 20-minute online survey was administered with a sample of 2,025 United States residents aged 16 years and older. The sample was stratified by gender, age, and region, to ensure that the sample’s composition reflected the underlying distribution of the population as determined by Census data. A traditional probability sample of comparable size would have produced results considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
For more information please visit: www.intensions.co/future-of-life
ABOUT INTENSIONS CONSULTING
Intensions Consulting Inc., is a market research company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. We use statistics and psychology to find hidden insights and market opportunities for clients across North-America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region. Our research findings have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, and have been quoted by news organizations including the BBC, CBC, Daily Mail, and Toronto Star.
web: https://www.intensions.co
ABOUT NIKOLAS BADMINTON
Nikolas Badminton is a world-renowned futurist, speaker, and media producer. He leads the team Exponential Minds, an expert advisory firm that helps progressive governments, trillion-dollar companies, and media shift their mindset from ‘what is’ to ‘what if’. The result is companies with a deeper sense of empathy for humans, new innovative products, and a more equitable future.