Taking a break from social media improves mental health and wellness.

SHARE

Taking a break from social media improves mental health and wellness.

Table of Contents

According to new research, taking a one-week break from TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook can boost overall well-being and mental health, as well as feelings of despair and fear.

According to reports, simply asking people to stop using social media for a week can result in major improvements in their mental health, including happiness, despair, and anxiety. It may be recommended as a way to assist people maintain their mental health in the future.

The mental health effects of taking a one-week sabbatical from social media platforms were investigated by a team of researchers from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. According to some poll participants, they saved nine hours a week that they would have spent on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

Their findings, which were published in the American journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking, show that taking a week off from social media can significantly improve people’s general sense of well-being while also reducing symptoms of despair and anxiety.

Your mental health examined.

The participants in the study ranged in age from 18 to 72 and used social media on a daily basis. They were randomly allocated to one of two groups: intervention, which was urged to stop from using social media for one week, or control, which was allowed to browse as normal. Participants were initially asked to fill out questionnaires about their anxiety, despair, and overall well-being.

At the start of the study, participants estimated that they spent an average of 8 hours per week on social media. Individuals who were urged to take a one-week social media vacation reported bigger improvements in their well-being, despair, and anxiety than those who continued to use social media, implying that taking a social media break has a short-term advantage.

Participants who were encouraged to take a one-week sabbatical from social media utilised it for an average of 21 minutes each day, compared to seven hours. To confirm that the interruption had occurred, statistics on screen usage were provided.

Cutting out the addiction.

Researchers are aware that social media use is widespread, and that there is rising concern about its impact on mental health. The goal of this study was to explore if taking a week off from social media could help with mental health.

The participants reported a better mood and less overall worry as a result of their social media abstinence. This highlights the value of even a quick break.

Of course, social media is an integral part of many people’s everyday lives, and it shapes their identities and interactions with others. If you spend several hours each week scrolling and believe it is badly affecting your life, it can be worth cutting back to see if it helps.

Future avenues to explore.

The researchers intend to build on their findings to see if having a brief vacation can benefit others (e.g., younger people or people with physical and mental health conditions). To ascertain whether the effects are long-lasting, the research team would like to examine people for longer than one week. They feel that if this is true, it will become one of the therapy alternatives available to those who want to manage their mental health in the future.

Social media has radically changed the way we communicate with one another, as proven by the exponential rise of the top platforms over the previous 15 years. In the United Kingdom, adult social media users climbed from 45 percent in 2011 to 71 percent in 2021. According to Pew Research Center, 97% of 16- to 44-year-olds use social media, with scrolling being the most popular online activity.

The signs of depression include excessive and uncontrollable worry and worry-related behaviour, whereas the symptoms of anxiety are feeling “sad” and lacking pleasure. Well-being is characterised as the presence of a person’s positive affect, life satisfaction, and feeling of purpose.


Story Source: Original story written by University of Bath. Note: Content may be edited for style and length by Scible News.


Reference

Jeffrey Lambert, George Barnstable, Eleanor Minter, Jemima Cooper, Desmond McEwan. Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled TrialCyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2022; DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0324

Enjoyed reading this article...

Create a FREE account to let us know what you think about it!

It only takes a few seconds to create an account. Once you join, you can comment on hundreds of breaking science stories. It’s completely free.

Found this interesting? Share it with others:

LATEST

Psychology

GO AD-FREE

Upgrade to News+ & support our small team of writers.

We really don’t want to rely on ads to keep our platform running! Go ad-free by clicking the button below to become a News+ member. It helps us to keep bringing you the latest science news!

If you aren’t able to join today please bookmark us for when you’re feeling extra generous…it goes a long way!

GO AD-FREE

Upgrade to News+ & support our small team of writers.

We really don’t want to rely on ads to keep our platform running! Go ad-free by clicking the button below to become a News+ member. It helps us to keep bringing you the latest science news!

If you aren’t able to join today please bookmark us for when you’re feeling extra generous…it goes a long way!