Taking a break from social media for a week could improve your mental health

The research, published in the journal JAMA Network Openfollowed up 295 volunteers between 18 and 24 years who decided to spend seven days of social applications.

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The instructions were clear: avoid its use if possible. On average, the group reduced their connection time from just under two hours to half an hour a day.

Both before and after the test, the researchers administered surveys that measured depression, anxiety, insomnia, loneliness and a series of problematic behaviors on social networks.

The results

What was found? Positive data, without a doubt. The symptoms of anxiety decreased 16.1%; those of depression24.8%; and those of insomnia14.5%. The benefits were more noticeable in subjects with more severe depression.

John Torous associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-author of the study, told The New York Times than to reduce social networks “It certainly wouldn’t be your first line or your only treatment.”but the study shows that it could be useful as a complement.

“If you are struggling with a mental health disorder and you already have treatment”he commented, “it’s probably worth experimenting to see if cutting back on social media helps you feel better”.

Torous explained to the aforementioned media that his interest in investigating this point arose because many of his university patients indicated that they had benefited from digital breaks. However, when searching the literature he found results “confused” y “shoot”.

An interesting fact was that the mental health benefits seemed to derive from reducing harmful behavior on networks, such as addictive use and negative social comparisonmore than just screen time. In fact, some participants spent more time on their cell phones during the detox week. This contradicts the idea that excessive screen time is the main cause of mental health problems, although it is something that should be interpreted with caution.

Take data with caution

The results are not definitive. Torous himself pointed out that they should not be interpreted as treatment recommendations. The individuals studied presented few symptoms of poor mental healthso the magnitude of the improvement was not drastic either. Additionally, there was “tremendous heterogeneity in response differences” and not everyone benefited.

According to The New York Timesseveral psychologists consider that the study has limited value due to possible biases. This was not a randomized controlled trial: it involved people who voluntarily decided to take a break, and may have anticipated improvement.

If people constantly talk about the health dangers of social networks, some experts believe that people may be more inclined to internalize that message.

This evidence, therefore, is not conclusive, but opens the way for future research.

However, the contribution of the results obtained cannot be denied. As Mitch Prinstein, scientific director of the American Psychological Association, pointed out to the American media, the findings add to existing evidence that, on average, “depression, anxiety and loneliness tend to decrease” in those who abandon social networks for a time.

Digital breaks are “a simple and free solution that seems to lead to rapid improvement”unlike psychotherapy, which can take weeks to take effect, Prinstein said. “This is a solution that will empower most parents and young people themselves. Use social media much less, and there is a reasonable chance that they will start to feel much better”.