Eleven findings · one leaf
A feed that ends.
Eleven findings about where our attention goes, each from a study you can check. The leaf falls as you scroll. When it lands, you’re done.
Outside · 1
87%
of our time is spent inside buildings, and another 6% inside vehicles.
Klepeis et al. · Journal of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology, 2001 · US National Human Activity Pattern Survey · n = 9,386
Outside · 2
120minutes
a week in nature is where the benefit shows. At or above it, people were significantly more likely to report good health and high wellbeing.
White et al. · Scientific Reports, 2019 · n = 19,806, England · benefits peaked at 200–300 minutes
Outside · 3
20minutes
is the most efficient dose of a “nature pill”. Time in nature cut the stress hormone cortisol by an extra 21% an hour, beyond its normal daily fall.
Hunter, Gillespie & Chen · Frontiers in Psychology, 2019 · n = 36 city dwellers, 8 weeks · efficiency peaked at 20–30 minutes
Outside · 4
90minutes
walking in nature reduced rumination, and activity in a brain region linked to it. The same length of walk through the city did not.
Bratman et al. · PNAS, 2015 · rumination is a known risk factor for depression
Outside · 5
55%
Children who grew up with the least green space nearby had up to 55% higher risk of a psychiatric disorder later in life.
Engemann et al. · PNAS, 2019 · 943,027 people in Denmark, followed from childhood
Meanwhile
We are turning to something else.
Inside the machine · 6
72%
of US teenagers have used an AI companion. One in three has chosen one over a person for a serious conversation.
Common Sense Media · Talk, Trust and Trade-Offs, 2025 · n = 1,060, ages 13–17, surveyed by NORC at the University of Chicago
Inside the machine · 7
1.2 million
ChatGPT users a week show signs of heightened emotional attachment to it, about 0.15% of weekly users, by OpenAI’s own estimate.
OpenAI · Strengthening ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive conversations, October 2025 · 0.15% of ~800 million weekly users
Inside the machine · 8
981
people in a four-week randomised trial. Those who chose to use the chatbot more ended up lonelier, more dependent on it and less social, whichever version they had.
Fang et al. · MIT Media Lab & OpenAI · 2025 preprint · more than 300,000 messages
Inside the machine · 9
4months
Lonely people turned to chatbots for company, and turning to them predicted more emotional isolation four months later.
Folk & Dunn · Psychological Science, 2026 · 2,149 adults, half in the UK, surveyed four times over a year · the authors call the analysis exploratory
Inside the machine · 10
1,131
AI companion users studied. Using one mainly for company went with lower wellbeing, more so when chats were intense and deeply personal.
Zhang, Zhao, Hancock, Kraut & Yang · Nature Human Behaviour, 2026 · people with smaller social networks were more likely to use it for company
Inside the machine · 11
30%
higher odds of reporting moderate depression among US adults who use generative AI every day. An association, not proof of cause.
Perlis et al. · JAMA Network Open, 2026 · more than 20,000 adults · summary
That’s everything
You’ve reached the end.
Outside doesn’t have one.
This feed is finite on purpose.