Democracy Dies in Darkness

This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say

Studies show that taking even short breaks could reverse measures of cognitive decline.

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A figure reaches for a ladder to leave a pool with instagram-colored water
(Illustration by Emma Kumer/The Washington Post)
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The young woman described to a jury what it was like to lose control of her life to social media.

She began as a child, she said, and over time the habit expanded to fill nearly every available hour — late nights bleeding into early mornings, sleep gradually displaced. She would try to stop and find herself returning in a loop she could not escape. As her use intensified, so did her distress: anxiety, depression and a growing fixation on her appearance.