The study focused on young people aged between 18 and 24, the most active group on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X.
The study aims to understand how different usage patterns affect levels of anxiety, depression, and sleep, and the extent to which excessive use is linked to potential psychological effects.
The researchers collected data from 295 participants for two weeks prior to the experiment to assess normal usage, then followed up with their data during a week of "social media detox," recording their self-assessments of mental health daily, using real-time environmental assessments (EMAs).
The study revealed that young people's mental health improved significantly after just one week of reducing their social media use. They reported lower levels of anxiety, depression, and insomnia symptoms after limiting their screen time.
The average results showed a 16.1% decrease in anxiety, a 24.8% decrease in depression, and a 14.5% decrease in insomnia symptoms. Average daily social media use also decreased from 1.9 hours to 0.5 hours, while 6.2% of participants abstained from using it entirely during the trial week.
The study indicated that the improvement was greatest among participants who had excessive or problematic use of platforms, such as negative social comparisons or addictive use, while a decrease in total screen time was not the primary factor in the results.
Despite the promising results, the study was not without some limitations, such as the voluntary nature of the participation and the absence of a randomized control group or long-term follow-up. Furthermore, participants did not report a significant change in their feelings of loneliness, which may reflect the role of social media platforms in maintaining social connection and a sense of belonging.
The study authors confirmed that reducing social media use can be a useful tool for supporting young people's mental health, but noted that more research is needed to determine the sustainability of these results and their link to long-term behaviors.
The study was published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
