Reducing social media use can reduce anxiety, depression and loneliness, a new study has revealed.
With mental health being a huge and growing issue within healthcare, particularly among the younger population, interventions which could help to support this are increasingly being sought.
And in a new study, limiting social media use to 30 minutes a day was found to have significant psychological benefits.
Iowa State University researchers carried out a two-week study with 230 college students, half of whom were asked to limit their social media usage to 30 minutes a day and received automated, daily reminders.
They scored significantly lower for anxiety, depression, loneliness and fear of missing out at the end of the experiment, compared to the control group.
They also scored higher for ‘positive affect’, which the researchers describe as “the tendency to experience positive emotions described with words such as ‘excited’ and ‘proud.’”
“It surprised me to find that participants’ wellbeing did not only improve in one dimension but in all of them,” says Ella Faulhaber, a Ph.D. student in human-computer interaction and lead author of the paper.
“I was excited to learn that such a simple intervention of sending a daily reminder can motivate people to change their behaviour and improve their social media habits.”
The researchers found the psychological benefits from cutting back on social media extended to participants who sometimes exceeded the 30-minute time limit.
“The lesson here is, it’s not about being perfect but putting in effort, which makes a difference. I think self-limiting and paying attention are the secret ingredients, more so than the 30-minute benchmark,” Faulhaber states.
Dr Douglas A. Gentile, co-author and distinguished professor of psychology, says their results fit with other research that has grown out of kinesiology and health fields.
“Knowing how much time we spend on activities each day and making something countable makes it easier for people to change their behaviours,” he says, giving Fitbits and daily steps as an example.
Dr Gentile and Faulhaber point out other studies have investigated the effects of limiting or abstaining from social media, but many of the interventions require heavy supervision and deleting apps or using a special application to block or limit social media.
“When a perceived freedom is taken away, we start resisting,” says Dr Gentile, adding that eliminating social media also means losing some of the benefits it can bring, like connecting with friends and family.
Faulhaber says their study extends the current research on social media and provides a practical way for people to limit their use. For anyone looking to cut back, she recommends:
- Create awareness. Set a timer or use a built-in wellness app to see how much time you spend on social media.
- Give yourself grace. Recognise that it’s not easy to stick to a time limit. Social media apps are designed to keep you engaged.
- Don’t give up. Limiting social media use over time has real benefits for your daily life.
The researchers say it is also important to be mindful of how and when we use these platforms.
“We live in an age of anxiety. Lots of indicators show that anxiety, depression, loneliness are all getting worse, and that can make us feel helpless. But there are things we can do to manage our mental health and wellbeing,” says Dr Gentile.
