People who stop using social media for even just one week show significant improvements in their mood and mental health, such as anxiety and depression, a new British scientific study shows.
The University of Bath researchers, led by Dr Jeff Lambert of the Department of Health, who published the paper in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking, studied 154 people aged 18 to 72 who were daily users of social media.
Participants were randomly divided into two groups: One continued normal social media use (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok) on a daily basis, while the second stopped for one week (thus «freeing up» an average of eight to nine hours per week). Subjects' mental health was assessed both at the beginning and at the end of the study.
It was found that one week of «abstinence» from social media was enough to improve the general sense of mental well-being and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in particular.
Lambert pointed out that «social media use is so pervasive that many of us do it without thinking, from the moment we wake up until we close our eyes at night. We know that because of this huge use of social media, there have been growing concerns expressed about the impact on mental health. Our study showed that many participants reported benefits from taking a weekly break from social media, showing improved mood and less stress in general, meaning that even a short break can have a positive impact.».
«Of course,» he added, «for many people, social media is part of their lives and an integral part of who they are and how they interact with others. But if you spend hours each week on them and feel that you are being negatively affected, it does make sense to stop using them to see if it will help you.».
The researchers will then study whether the psychological benefit lasts over time if the «abstinence» from social media lasts for more than a week. If this is confirmed, they said, then it should be considered by mental health experts as another clinical-therapeutic option.
