“The best data... suggests that there is not a global link between these factors."

Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, who said their study was the largest of its kind, said they found no evidence to support “popular ideas that certain groups are more at risk” from the technology.

However, Andrew Przybylski, professor at the institute—part of the University of Oxford—said that the data necessary to establish a causal connection was “absent” without more cooperation from tech companies. If apps do harm mental health, only the companies that build them have the user data that could prove it, he said.

    • 4dpuzzleEnglish
      2•11 months ago

      There should be some institution or mechanism to assess the source of funding and possible conflict of interests in every study. We know that big corps regularly fund studies in order to downplay harms they perpetrate, scuttle regulatory proposals, mislead and create confusion about their activities.

      • meseek #2982
        4•11 months ago

        The entire scientific community isn’t what people think. There is so much corruption or bias, it’s absurd. But I agree, every peer reviewed paper needs to have its top 3 sources of funding right there is the title. And we need to keyword them so every article Google or Microsoft have ever funded are right there in plain sight. And not some forgotten footnote.

        Leave it to capitalism to mix everything with money and subsequently greed 👍

        But then governments do this on the daily too. My first year bio prof left her job testing water samples for the government because she found things. Bad things. And they didn’t bring them findings to light, they suppressed them and told her to forget about it (applaud her for having the backbone to leave!).

        Thanks for coming to my ted talk.