The American operating system

Work, status, mobility and isolation — the cultural defaults that leave people empty by design, and the research measuring it.

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Across 355,358 adolescents, screen time explained at most 0.4 percent of the differences in well-being

Orben and Przybylski ran every defensible analysis on three big surveys. Technology use was linked to lower well-being, but the link was tiny: eating potatoes was nearly as bad, and wearing glasses was worse.

moderate evidence66/100

Caveat on this rating: Correlational self-report surveys with broad screen-time items from 2007 to 2016; a small average can hide larger effects for some young people or uses. One author discloses unpaid advisory roles to Facebook and Google. The opposite reading of similar data (Twenge) remains contested.

published October 7, 2026source 2019DOI verifiedread →

Valuing money and possessions goes with lower well-being across 259 samples, a 2014 meta-analysis finds

Dittmar, Bond, Hurst and Kasser pooled 753 effect sizes. Materialist values correlated with lower well-being (r about minus 0.19). Strongest for risky health behaviour and harsh self-judgement, weakest for life satisfaction.

early signal52/100

Caveat on this rating: A meta-analysis of correlational studies led by authors who have long argued materialism is harmful; the pooled correlation is small and cause is not established in either direction.

published October 7, 2026source 2014DOI verifiedread →

This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.

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