Meta Halted Internal Research Showing Mental Health Benefits of Social Media Breaks
Meta quietly terminated a 2020 study codenamed Project Mercury after it revealed users experienced significant mental health improvements when deactivating Facebook and Instagram. Nielsen research commissioned by Meta found subjects reported feeling less depressed, anxious, and lonely during the week-long abstinence period—with reduced social comparison behaviors.
Internal documents show researchers acknowledged the causal relationship, with one employee comparing Meta's silence to tobacco companies suppressing health findings. Despite these results, Meta told Congress it lacked methodology to assess platform harms to teens—even as it possessed contradictory data.
Company spokesman Andy Stone cited methodological flaws for the shutdown, asserting Meta's commitment to teen safety through other initiatives. The revelations emerge as plaintiffs allege Meta knowingly designed addictive products while concealing risks.
