Want to improve mental health? Take a break from social media

Taking a break from social media can significantly improve well-being and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, a new study has found.

The researchers, from the University of Bath, examined the effects on mental health after taking a week-long break from social media. For some participants, the weeklong break freed up around nine hours that would have been spent on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

“Social media (SM) has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other, allowing users to interact with friends and family and meet others based on shared interests by creating virtual public profiles,” the authors wrote in the study, which has been published in the journal Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networks. “In the UK, the number of adults using SM increased from 45 per cent in 2011 to 71 per cent in 2021.”

The researchers also noted that previous studies had also found social media use to have a negative impact on various indices of mental health. An American study showed that adult users of social networks were much more likely to suffer from depression.

To investigate the benefits of taking a break from social media, researchers studied daily social media users ages 18 to 72. The researchers randomly assigned people to either stop using social media altogether for a week or continue to participate.

At first, participants reported spending an average of eight hours a week on social media. Those who took a break showed improvements in well-being, anxiety and depression.

Dr. Jeff Lambert, who led the study, said scrolling through social media was so ubiquitous that many people do it almost without thinking from the start of the day.

He added that it was well known that social media use was huge and that there was growing concern about its effects on mental health. He said they wanted to see if simply asking people to take a week-long break from social media could provide mental health benefits.

Many participants reported positive effects of taking a break with less overall anxiety and better mood, suggesting that even a short break can have an impact, Dr. Lambert said.

The researcher, however, admitted that social networks were part of life and for many an indispensable part of their being and interactions with others. However, if spending hours a week commuting creates negative impacts, it might be worth reducing your use, he said.