Social media can cause stress in real life – our ‘digital thermometer’ helps track it

Social media can cause stress in real life – our ‘digital thermometer’ helps track it

Social media has reached more than half (63.9%) of the world’s population since it got started in 1996. Social network platforms grew from 970 million users in 2010 to 5.41 billion in July 2025. The average social media user engages with between six and seven platforms. The average person spends two hours 21 minutes on social media per day. All this time on social media shapes people’s perceptions, influences emotions and fuels anxieties, but it…