If you are thinking of taking a break from endlessly scrolling on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, recent research confirms it's a smart move. But just how much time is enough to experience the mental health benefits of a social media break[/B]?
Researchers in a recent study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found thatparticipants improved their well-being (defined as their level of positive emotion, life satisfaction, and sense of purpose) and mreduced levels of depression and anxiety after a one-week break.
"We wanted to find out whether or not people would make it through the one-week break and whether it would also predict changes in mental health," said Jeffrey Lambert, Ph.D, professor of health and psychology at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom and lead researcher.
He and his colleagues analyzed the social media use of 154 adults. At first, each participant was asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their mental health and social media use. They found, on average, participants spent about eight hours a week on social media.
After completing the baseline survey, participants were divided into two groups - intervention and control. The intervention group was asked to stop using social media for one week, although they were not controlled during this period. Instead, they were given tips on how to unplug, such as downloading an app blocker, turning off social media notifications and deleting social media apps.
Meanwhile, people in the control group were simply asked to continue using social media as normal.
Lower levels of depression and anxiety
After a week, everyone completed a follow-up survey to assess their mental health and submitted screen time analysis to researchers.[/P]In the end, the researchers found not only that people in the intervention group drastically reduced their social media use - reducing it to just 28 minutes a week, compared to that average of eight hours - but also noted improvements in well-being and reported lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Social media and our mental health
Lambert says that reflecting on your social media use and possibly taking a break from social networking sites -TikTok, Facebook, even Strava- can be a relatively easy way to help manage your mental health.
Jarrod Spencer, Psy.D, sports psychologist and author of Mind of the Athlete: Clearer Mind, Better Performance, agrees: "The nature of social media is thatit's designed to give you dopamine [A CHEMICAL THAT PLAYS A ROLE IN HOW WE FEEL PLEASURE] and the problem is that we're meant to get dopamine by doing something difficult".
Spencer says a break from social media will allow you to stop overthinking and get dopamine from other activities, including exercise. This means that time spent cycling can boost your mood and mental wellbeing even more than it already does. And without spending all that time on social, you have even more free time to get outside.
*With information from ScienceDaily
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