“The findings were striking… Lower levels of anxiety and depression ... Increases in happiness and overall emotional wellbeing,” Mowbray wrote.
“Researchers described the impact as ‘comparable to therapy.’”
Mowbray co-owned Kiwi toy company Zuru with her brothers Mat and Nick before selling her stake and creating Zeil, a job advertising platform marketed as the “Tinder for recruitment”.
Now Zeil’s chief executive, Mowbray said in her post that “as leaders, founders and technologists, we often speak about productivity, innovation and balance”.
“My question is, are we truly creating conditions, at work and in life, that support deep wellbeing?”
The research from Stanford came as a “wake-up call” to Mowbray.
She questioned whether we’re building the right digital ecosystems and using technology for positive intentions, and asked: “How can we support others in choosing connection over compulsion?”
In revealing she’s removed Instagram and Facebook from her phone, Mowbray said the shift was an attempt to reset the norm and create balance.
“Sometimes the boldest innovation is subtraction.”
Facebook and Instagram are owned by Meta, a California-based technology company run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Alongside Facebook and Instagram, which have 3 billion and 2 billion active users respectively, Meta owns several other social media platforms such as Threads, WhatsApp and Messenger.
LinkedIn, which has a focus on professional networking, shares several traits with Facebook and Instagram.
These include the ability to share status updates, pictures and videos alongside interaction tools such as likes, comments and shares.
The move to quit popular social media channels comes a week after she and husband Ali Williams and billionaire backers Bill Foley and Bennett Rosenthal pulled the plug on a proposal to build a new stadium at Western Springs.
Mowbray has been approached for comment.
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