According to a new study published in Technology Mind and Behavior, a team of researchers at Iowa State University found that even modest reductions in daily social media usage could have significant benefits on a person’s mental health and overall emotional wellbeing.
The study findings come at a time when social media usage has raised numerous concerns about how it affects the health and wellbeing of its users. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon General, children and teens who use social media over three hours a day are twice as likely to experience problems like anxiety and depression. That’s not mention the numerous affects social media has on other areas of a person’s health, including social wellbeing and personal perception of self.
To better understand the role between social media usage and mental health, Iowa State University researchers followed roughly 230 college students and monitored their social media usage. Specifically, researchers asked half of study participants to reduce the amount of time they spent on social media by 30 minutes each day, providing regular reminders to help them with compliance. Participants also completed outcome measures to gauge levels of stress, anxiety, depressions, and loneliness.
Across the board, participants who cut their social media usage scored far better on score of anxiety, depression, and loneliness compared to those who were not asked to cut social media activity. This was especially true for participants who exceeded their 30-minute daily requirement.
However, the study also revealed some issues that can emerge when trying to scale back social media use. One issue involves supervised or self-imposed interventions like deleting app or app-blocking features on smart devices. The effect can make a user feel like a certain amount of freedom has been surrendered, making this approach unsustainable. It can also limit people from getting some of the positives from social media, such as interaction with friens.
Ultimately, the research team suggested that practicing self-management can be a particularly powerful way to manage social media, including setting time limits for yourself to help you become more aware of your social media usage.
Sources: EurekAlert!; Technology Mind and Behavior; HHS
