A Social Network Designed To Help Fight Depression

One big problem right now with social media is the fact that many of us use it and end up being depressed because we compare our lives to the inaccurate lives we see show up in our feeds. So what if someone became aware of that problem and wanted to create a social network that actually eases depression instead of adding to it? Good news, it’s on its way.

From Wired:

We tend to build things first and worry about the effects they have on us later. Robert Morris is taking the opposite approach. Starting with the desired effect of helping people deal with depression, he developed Panoply, a crowdsourced website for improving mental health. The site, which was the focus of his doctoral thesis at MIT Media Lab, trained users to reframe and reassess negative thoughts, embedding an established technique called cognitive behavioral therapy in an engaging, unthreatening interface. After a study confirmed the site’s effectiveness, Morris formed a company and is now working on turning the idea into a polished consumer app

Panoply sounds incredibly interesting, and with its altruistic goals in mind, here’s hoping it can do just what it sets out. Shake some of us from the gray clouds we are under.

[Image and story via Wired]