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Introduction: Given previous experimental research on the benefits of limiting time spent on social media and correlational research linking active use to better well-being, we designed an experimental study to investigate the effects of limiting time and increasing active use on social media on well-being.
Method: After completing a survey on who...
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... = 2.21, at week 4, mean BDI = 28.63, SD = 5.04) (see Figure 3). However, contrary to our expectations, highly depressed participants in the active group showed no such improvements. ...
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Social Media Disorder (SMD) is characterised by the intense and excessive use of social media. Although previous studies have shown that SMD was associated with poor mental health, research across types of usage and platforms remain limited. Here, we conducted an initial investigation of social media usage across platforms and its relation to anxie...
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... This approach is problematic because it allows participants to access other social platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, which would ultimately weaken HARTANTO ET AL. 2 the validity and reliability of the experimental manipulation. Lastly, the mixed findings could also be partly contributed by heterogeneity in social media usage intensity, motives, and network (e.g., number of friends and followers in social media) across the existing studies given that these factors may influence individual's reliance on social media (Andreassen, 2015;Hunt et al., 2021;Schivinski et al., 2020). ...
With social media deeply embedded in our daily lives, there is an ongoing debate about its potential negative impact on well-being outcomes. Several lines of correlational research suggest that social media use is associated with reduced well-being. However, these findings are preliminary, heavily relying on cross-sectional data. To address this limitation, our study implemented an experimental paradigm that manipulated varying degrees of social media abstinence and assessed fear of missing out, as well as multiple well-being outcomes, including anxiety, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, perceived stress, affective states, loneliness, sleep quality, and cognitive failures. A total of 280 regular social media users were randomly assigned to either a full social media abstinence condition, a partial social media abstinence condition, or a control condition for 7 days. During the experimental period, participants were required to complete a daily survey for 7 days to measure their well-being. Participants in the full abstinence condition reported higher levels of fear of missing out. However, our multilevel modeling revealed no significant impact of either full or partial social media abstinence on the well-being outcomes. More importantly, this null effect was consistent across various personality traits, perceived social supports, cyberbullying experience, and individual differences in social media usage, motives, and network. Our findings challenge the widely held assumption that digital detoxes or social media unplugging interventions are effective strategies for enhancing well-being.
... Full abstinence is the most common type, which asks participants not to use social media at all for a specified duration (Przybylski et al., 2021;Vally & D'Souza, 2019). There is another type of intervention that is not full abstinence but involves placing restrictions and limitations on social media use, such as time limitations (Brailovskaia et al., 2020;Hunt et al., 2021). Some studies use therapybased interventions for SMD (Chen et al., 2022;Nguyen & Hargittai, 2024). ...
... These results indicate that the impact of SMD on well-being was small but positive, increasing positive feelings and reducing negative feelings to improve overall well-being. These feelings are consistent with those of most studies (Brailovskaia et al., 2020;Chen et al., 2022;Hou et al., 2019;Hunt et al., 2021;Turel et al., 2018). Our results support some arguments based on the presumption of balance, suggesting that SMD is a response to the experience of temporal overload and invasion, and serves as a strategy to improve health and mindful presence (Syvertsen & Enli, 2020). ...
... A possible explanation for this is that all types of SMD interventions could affect well-being. Most studies included in this meta-analysis focused on the full abstinence or limited use approaches (Hunt et al., 2021;Schwarz et al., 2022;Turel et al., 2018), which have demonstrated a positive influence on well-being. Moreover, there are other therapy methods. ...
With the penetration of social media into all aspects of people’s lives, there is a growing trend of social media detox (taking a short break from social media). Although social media detox (SMD) has been theorized to influence well-being, vibrant research on this issue presents mixed results. This raises the question of whether SMD has positive or negative effects on well-being, calling for a synthesis of empirical evidence to determine if engaging in SMD can improve well-being. Systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesize evidence on the relationship between SMD and well-being from randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A total of 20 RCTs and 56 effect sizes (positive indicators of well-being k = 33; negative indicators of well-being k = 23) were analyzed. The meta-analysis findings using random effects showed that there was a positive and small effect of SMD on well-being, including positive indicators and negative indicators. The results of the moderating analysis showed that there was heterogeneity in the relationship between SMD and well-being caused by cultural background. Moreover, intervention duration moderated the relationship between SMD and negative indicators of well-being. This meta-analysis allows for an integration of conclusions from past studies and establishes a clearer understanding of the relationship between SMD and well-being.
... Previous research conducted at the Pennsylvania Research Center and led by psychologist Hunt was focused on analyzing the impact of online platforms, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, on a person's mental health [25]. The research showed that participants who minimized their stay on social networks demonstrated a significant reduction in cases of depression and feeling lonely compared to active users of social media. ...
The primary sociopsychological factors of the current spread of information addiction are as follows: expanded access to information, the popularity of social networks, marketing influence, Fear of Missing Out (hereinafter - FOMO) syndrome, which is a fear of lagging behind events or losing opportunities, desire for positive feedback and constant monitoring of news, and feelings of loneliness and depression. In this context, research in the fields of psychology, sociology, medicine, and related sciences that analyze the changes in human behavior regarding information consumption are relevant. This change may be manifested as satisfaction of the social need for moderately consumed information or as a psychological disorder – excessive consumption of information that harms the mental health of a person. Children, adolescents, and youth are the social groups that are the most vulnerable to information addiction in modern societies. The relevance of studying sociopsychological factors of information addiction is determined by the need to constantly monitor, prevent, forecast, and solve the problems of information addiction facing young generations to improve their quality of life, mental health, and full social integration into society.
... FOMO diketahui dapat memprediksi penggunaan media sosial yang berlebihan, seperti penelitian yang dilakukan oleh Hunt et al. (2018). Wolniewicz et al. (2018) (Hunt et al., 2021). Meskipun banyak penelitian yang menunjukkan bahwa mengurangi penggunaan media sosial berdampak baik pada psikologis manusia, ternyata tindakan tersebut dapat meningkatkan FOMO yang dimiliki (Stieger & Lewetz, 2018 ...
Social media has brought various impacts to human life, including negative impact such as fear of missing out (FOMO). Comprehensive researches of FOMO in Indonesia are still very little; hence this research was conducted in-depth. This research aims to explore and describe the fear of missing out (FOMO) phenomenon in social media users in Indonesia. Convergent mixed methods are used in this study, using the fear of missing out measurement scale compiled by Helmi (2020) (α = 0,758), adapted from Fear of Missing Out Scale by Przybylski et al. (2013) and an open-ended questionnaire. The quantitative result of this research shows that the majority of the participants have a moderate level of FOMO. The qualitative result describes that FOMO emerged from participants’ negative emotions due to work-related and academic information needs. Most of the participants stated that they felt neutral for not accessing social media for a long period of time. Integrated results of both quantitative and qualitative show confirmation of findings. This result of this study also shows no significant difference on FOMO level between men and women. In addition, differences found significantly based on various participants’ durations of social media use. Researchers suggest that participants should know a limit in using social media to prevent FOMO level from increasing.
... Additional recent studies revealed that already a reduction of SMU timethat is less challenging and more realistic over a longer period of time than a complete abstinencealso improved mental health. A reduction of SMU up to 30 min a day over three weeks decreased anxiety and depression symptoms (Hunt et al. 2018(Hunt et al. , 2021; less SMU for 20 min a day over two weeks resulted in a longitudinal decrease of depression symptoms and addictive use tendencies as well as in an increase of life satisfaction (Brailovskaia, Ströse, et al. 2020). In a further study, the reduction of daily SMU by 30 min over two weeks reduced depression symptoms, psychological burden and addictive use tendencies, and it increased subjective happiness (Brailovskaia, Swarlik, et al. 2022). ...
... -Las aplicaciones y redes sociales en las que se encuentre registrado y utilice con (Hunt et al., 2021;Lup et al., 2015;Shensa et al., 2018). ...
... Por ejemplo, el número de fotos o tweets subidos, interaccionar de forma activa/reactiva o mantener un rol más pasivo (p. ej.: solo dar likes), incluso aspectos tales como la edición de las fotos o los caracteres empleados puede ofrecernos información relevante(Cole et al., 2019;Hunt et al., 2021;Kim et al., 2021).-Comparación social. ...
... The same conditions have been associated with improved mood, increased positive emotions, and decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety (El-Khoury et al., 2021). Decreased symptoms of depression were especially noticeable for people with higher preexisting levels of symptoms (Hunt et al., 2021). However, the results supporting digital detox to improve sleep, life satisfaction, affect, and mood are mixed and not yet conclusive (Radtke et al., 2022). ...
Many popular press articles promote the benefits of undergoing a digital detox for people who believe screen-based digital media is detrimental to their well-being. This qualitative study aimed to better understand the experiences of people who undertake digital detoxes. Semistructured interviews were conducted with five women and two men. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data generated two themes: (a) resisting temptation: the digital diet and (b) in search of the perfect self: actual versus ideal. The motivations to undertake a digital detox focus on a discrepancy between an individual’s ideal self and how they perceive themselves when using digital technology. Here, digital technology, especially smartphones and social media, is seen as a threat to values, self-regulation, and self-esteem. While the undertaking a digital detox is viewed as a way of reducing self-discrepancy, many people consider their digital technologies vital tools to manage their work and social lives. Individuals experiencing self-discrepancy may benefit from greater exposure to research articulating the benefits of digital technology to shift their perception of abstinence being ideal when some consumption is almost inevitable in modern life.
... Where provided, sample ages ranged from 17 to 71 years, and 61% (14/23) of the studies reported mean ages between 20 and 30 years. Of the 23 studies, 4 (17%) did not provide ages and categorized participants as undergraduates [22,46,54,55]. A little more than half (12/23, 52%) of the studies recruited participants via university sampling, 30% (7/23) used web advertisements, and 17% (4/23) combined these methods [39,42,51,53]. ...
... An overview of the effectiveness of the interventions by outcome is shown in Figure 2. The most improved outcome was depression, with 70% (7/10) of the studies that measured this outcome showing a benefit of the intervention, with large or medium effect sizes being reported [22,38,44,46,48,54,55], whereas 30% (3/10) showed no effect of the intervention [35,52,56]. Anxiety was the next most improved outcome, with 50% (3/6) of the studies that assessed this outcome showing significant improvement in anxiety, with medium and large effect sizes being reported [38,39,44]; however, 50% (3/6) reported no effect on anxiety [35,54,56]. ...
... Full-abstinence interventions showed mixed effectiveness overall, with 42% (5/12) of them showing mixed effects [41,46,[49][50][51], a third (4/12, 33%) showing no effect [42,43,45,47], and a quarter (3/12, 25%) showing a benefit of the intervention [36,44,48]. Social media use interventions that limited use also showed mixed effectiveness overall, with more than half (3/5, 60%) of the studies showing no effect [52,53,56] and 20% (1/5) showing an improvement [55] and mixed effects [54], respectively. ...
Background
Problematic social media use occurs when social media interferes with a person’s daily life and mental well-being. Problematic social media use interventions, e.g., abstinence from social media, have the potential to improve users’ mental well-being. However, there is limited understanding of the effectiveness of this and other types of interventions. This systematic review aimed to synthesise literature on the effectiveness of problematic social media use interventions in improving mental well-being in adults.
Methods
A systematic search (2004 – June 2022) was completed across three databases in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Experimental studies evaluating the impact of problematic social media use interventions on mental well-being in adults were included. Outcomes related to mental well-being, such as depression, anxiety, stress and loneliness, were included. A narrative synthesis without meta-analysis was completed to summarise study characteristics and effectiveness by outcomes and intervention type. The Quality Assessment Tool was used to measure quality.
Results
Of 2,785 results, 17 studies were included in analysis. Most studies (9/17, 53%) found improvements in mental well-being, five (5/17, 29%) found mixed effects and three found no effect on mental well-being. Therapy-based interventions, that used techniques like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, were more effective than limiting use or full abstinence from social media, with 83% (5/6) of these studies showing significant improvements in mental well-being, compared to 50% (2/4) and 43% (3/7) respectively. Depression was the most frequently investigated and improved outcome with 67% (6/9) showing a significant improvement in depression after the intervention, while other outcomes showed more varied results. Quality was poor with 94% (16/17) of studies receiving a weak global score, mostly for issues with selection bias.
Conclusion
This review provides some evidence that problematic social media use interventions are effective in improving mental well-being, especially for depression and when using therapy-based interventions. Further experimental and longitudinal research is needed with representative samples to investigate who may benefit most from problematic social media use interventions. This will help to develop guidance and recommendations for policymakers and clinicians on how best to manage problematic social media use.
... Where provided, sample ages ranged from 17 to 71 years, and 61% (14/23) of the studies reported mean ages between 20 and 30 years. Of the 23 studies, 4 (17%) did not provide ages and categorized participants as undergraduates [22,46,54,55]. A little more than half (12/23, 52%) of the studies recruited participants via university sampling, 30% (7/23) used web advertisements, and 17% (4/23) combined these methods [39,42,51,53]. ...
... An overview of the effectiveness of the interventions by outcome is shown in Figure 2. The most improved outcome was depression, with 70% (7/10) of the studies that measured this outcome showing a benefit of the intervention, with large or medium effect sizes being reported [22,38,44,46,48,54,55], whereas 30% (3/10) showed no effect of the intervention [35,52,56]. Anxiety was the next most improved outcome, with 50% (3/6) of the studies that assessed this outcome showing significant improvement in anxiety, with medium and large effect sizes being reported [38,39,44]; however, 50% (3/6) reported no effect on anxiety [35,54,56]. ...
... Full-abstinence interventions showed mixed effectiveness overall, with 42% (5/12) of them showing mixed effects [41,46,[49][50][51], a third (4/12, 33%) showing no effect [42,43,45,47], and a quarter (3/12, 25%) showing a benefit of the intervention [36,44,48]. Social media use interventions that limited use also showed mixed effectiveness overall, with more than half (3/5, 60%) of the studies showing no effect [52,53,56] and 20% (1/5) showing an improvement [55] and mixed effects [54], respectively. ...
Background:
There is some evidence that more social media use is related to poorer mental well-being and that social media use can become problematic when it starts to interfere with a person's daily life and mental well-being. To address this issue and improve users' mental well-being, social media use interventions (eg, abstinence from social media) have been developed and evaluated. However, there is limited understanding of the effectiveness of these interventions in improving mental well-being.
Objective:
This systematic review aimed to synthesize the literature on the effectiveness of social media use interventions in improving mental well-being in adults.
Methods:
A systematic search (January 1, 2004, to July 31, 2022) was completed across 3 databases in accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Experimental studies evaluating the impact of social media use interventions on mental well-being in adults were included. Outcomes related to mental well-being, such as depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness, were included. A narrative synthesis without meta-analysis was completed to summarize the study characteristics and effectiveness by outcome and intervention type. The Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool was used to measure the quality of the studies.
Results:
Of the 2785 studies identified through the systematic search, 23 (0.83%) were included in the analysis. Many of the included studies (9/23, 39%) found improvements in mental well-being, some (7/23, 30%) found mixed effects, and others (7/23, 30%) found no effect on mental well-being. Therapy-based interventions that used techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy were more effective than limiting use of social media or full abstinence from social media, with 83% (5/6) of these studies showing improvements in mental well-being compared with 20% (1/5) and 25% (3/12), respectively. Depression was the most frequently investigated and improved outcome with 70% (7/10) of the studies showing a significant improvement in depression after the intervention, whereas other outcomes showed more varied results. Quality was poor, with 96% (22/23) of the studies receiving a weak global score, mostly for issues related to selection bias because most of the studies (16/23, 70%) used a convenience sampling of university students.
Conclusions:
This review provides some evidence that social media use interventions are effective in improving mental well-being, especially for depression and when using therapy-based interventions. Further experimental and longitudinal research is needed with representative samples to investigate who may benefit most from social media use interventions. This will help to develop guidance and recommendations for policy makers and clinicians on how best to manage problematic social media use.
... Množství studií začíná rozlišovat také mezi aktivním a pasivním užíváním sociálních sítí (např. Hanley et al., 2019;Hunt et al., 2021;Verudyn et al., 2015), což tato studie neučinila. Z výpovědí respondentů lze pozorovat, že jejich vzorce užívání sociálních sítí jsou opravdu rozličné a Instagram má tedy širokou paletu funkcí (např. ...
