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The Conversation
The Conversation
Bernard Crespi, Professor, Evolutionary Biology, Simon Fraser University

Amplifying delusions: How social media can negatively impact our mental well-being

Amazon anorexia MM
Social media is an evolutionary novelty, like M&M’s, e-cigarettes, fentanyl and H-bombs. Each comes with novel risks to health and well-being that humans are entirely unaccustomed to. (Shutterstock)

Imagine a tribe of uncontacted hunter-gatherers in the deepest Amazon rainforest. Anthropologists airdrop dozens of smartphones loaded with social media apps, with solar chargers, simple instructions in their native language and Wi-Fi just within the tribe. What would happen to their culture and their mental health?

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