- Cutting back on social media for a week resulted in less anxiety, depression, and insomnia for participants in a new study.
- Extensive social media engagement is viewed as potentially damaging to mental health, although its use is widespread and growing.
- Experts say that scrolling through social media feeds risks replacing real-world experiences, which are more likely to be protective of mental well-being.
For young adults, cutting back on social media for a week resulted in a significant reduction in anxiety, depression, and insomnia in a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The study involved 373 individuals ages 18 to 24, each of whom was paid $150 to participate. Of the cohort, 277 were female, 73 were male, 12 were non-binary, 9 were transgender, and 2 were listed as ‘Other’.
Five platforms were of special interest to the study authors:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- X
Participants were allowed to reduce their screen time as they saw fit. They reduced their use across all platforms. However, Instagram and Snapchat were the platforms with the highest rates of continued use. Individuals were more likely to forgo TikTok than Instagram or Snapchat. Facebook and X were the platforms most likely to be visited less during the study.
The study’s findings join an ongoing conversation among experts regarding the effects of screen time and social media on mental health, particularly for young adults and teens.
A meta-study published in June 2025 found widespread evidence that taking a break from social media can be beneficial in general.
Nidhi Gupta, MD, of the Phreedom Foundation, has written extensively about how a mobile device can promote mental health issues. She wasn’t involved in the study.
Social media, while it can help one connect with others, can also take an emotional toll if one is not cautious.
“Upward social comparison,” said Gupta, “i.e., comparing oneself to idealized portrayals of others’ bodies and lives, contributes to low self-esteem, anxiety, and depressive symptoms.”
With platform algorithms optimized to keep audiences engaged, many find themselves missing out on real-world experiences as they continue scrolling, “blunting the emotional benefits of actual interactions,” Gupta added.
As those algorithms improve, it becomes increasingly likely that a focus on social media diverts attention from other, potentially more positive and productive real-life events.
Gupta also pointed out that physical activity becomes less likely when one is glued to a screen, resulting in the loss of mood-enhancing endorphins.
Gupta cited the “displacement hypothesis,” which asserts that time spent in front of screens directly displaces time available for sleep.
She explained, “Repeated notifications alter brain-reward pathways and reinforce the fear of missing out (FOMO), making it harder for individuals to disengage from devices, especially at night.”
“Notably, studies show that mere ownership of a device or its presence in the bedroom, even without active use, is associated with poorer sleep outcomes,” Gupta added.
Once online in bed, screen time “induces a state of cognitive and emotional hyperarousal. Engaging feeds, news, emails, and social interactions interfere with both sleep initiation and sleep maintenance.”
There is also ample research indicating that the blue light emitted by mobile phone screens can impede healthy sleep, although some phone manufacturers have features that mitigate this somewhat.
Therapist and counselor John Sovec, MA, LMFT, noted that, “When it comes to the concept of a digital detox, it is important to also recognize that electronic screens are a reality in the day-to-day life of most young adults.”
“Trying to convince a teen to take a weeklong vacation from their screens would be a frustrating experience for all parties involved.”
“Parents,” he said, “can consider having open, honest conversations about their concern of overusage and collaborate with their kid to create a screen usage plan. Explore with them a commitment for both of you to cut your screen time by 25%.”
It may be possible to reduce screen time further once the initial adjustment is made and as time goes by, Sovec added.
He also suggested replacing screen time with enjoyable activities involving friends or extended family, such as having game nights or just making time to hang out.
“Try implementing a no-screen hour after school or before bed, and fill the new free time with fun activities involving friends or family,” offered Sovec.
“Instead of feeling like you need to constantly be focusing on social media and electronic entertainment,” he proposed, “choose a day to take off from screens and gadgets.”
Despite widespread suspicions of harm, the impact of social media is a challenging area to study clinically, making it difficult to establish conclusive findings.
“A randomized controlled trial,” Gupta explained, “would require participants to be assigned either to use or completely abstain from social media, while controlling for numerous confounders such as baseline mental health, personality traits, and offline stressors.”
“Recruiting participants willing to abstain from social media and ensuring their compliance would be extremely difficult!” she said.
Gupta noted, regarding this study, that “We must be cautious when interpreting self-reported screening questionnaires, particularly in mental health research. Individuals might underestimate and underreport their symptoms.”
Another issue with the study, she pointed out, is that the participants’ baseline social media use was less than 2 hours daily, which is far less than the average 4 to 5 hours typical of this age group. “This limits the generalizability of this data.”
