The response to this article has totally overwhelmed me. I knew that I wasn’t alone with this problem—that’s why I wrote the piece in the first place—but the sheer number of people who seem to have gone through similar problems with social media while suffering from depression, or have otherwise identified with the issue, has surprised me. As has your support: Thank you, really, for all your amazing messages.

In the two weeks since I published the article, people have sent me links related to the topic that I’d like to share here. First, in an article titled Is Facebook Luring You Into Being Depressed? (in its current stress-themed issue, which is very good), Chelsea Wald for Nautilus magazine takes a closer look at the scientific evidence for the (causal) relationship between social media and depression and concludes that the main issues are “social overload” and a spiral of envy. The article also suggests a way out: Active social media use appears to have a beneficial effect, while passive use is harmful. The Danish Happiness Research Institute came to similar conclusions in their study of the effect of Facebook’s absence on healthy people.

In Can’t Put Down Your Device? That’s by Design, Natasha Singer in the New York Times covers “growth hacking”, the tech industries’ term for making platforms and products ever harder to leave—though usually people call it “maximising engagement”. That’s related to something Alexis Madrigal took a closer look at in The Atlantic in 2013 in The Machine Zone: This Is Where You Go When You Just Can’t Stop Looking at Pictures on Facebook: How platforms and apps emulate slot machines in trying to get users into “the zone”.

Finally, people have sent me links to new social networks that intend to redress the mental health problems of Facebook et al. I haven’t tested any of them and have no opinion, but maybe some of you will find them helpful, so I’ll simply re-share: Paralign encourages people to talk about their problems, Koko similarly wants people to anonymously share stress to alleviate it, and Heimo offers peer support in difficult situations.