News

If doomscrolling through social media has you down in the dumps, then your medicine may be only a snapshot away.

Looking at old photos increases happiness and reduces anxiety according to a new study called “Frame of Mind.” Fujifilm teamed up with psychologist and mental health expert Dr. Lauren Cook to investigate the cognitive benefits of photography.

“Photos act as emotional anchors, grounding us in moments of happiness and connection,” said Dr. Cook in a press release. “What we’ve found here is that taking a few minutes a day to look through our photos or snap some pics can be a great form of self-care and bring us more joy than things we’ve turned to in the past like shopping, reading, gardening or even journaling.”

The notion that reminiscing over old images isn’t super surprising: But the specific data sets do reveal additional benefits including more smiles (64%), reduced anxiety (58%), and uplifted spirits (49%).

Perhaps most significantly in this digital age, an astonishing 84% of survey takers reported increased satisfaction from choosing to view their old images rather than scrolling through social media apps.

So next time you’ve got the Instagram ick or the Facebook flu, try flipping through some old photos instead—whether it’s of fish or friends.