Did you know Social Media Abstinence Lowers Anxiety, But Mindful Usage Helps Prevent Loneliness, Researchers Discover

 

According to a new study from the University of British Columbia, we can still protect our mental health without quitting social media completely. We can do this by prioritizing meaningful connections over mindless scrolling on social media. Doing a complete digital detox doesn't seem realistic and possible for many people because of modern work life, so this study proves that you can still keep your mental health healthy while using social media by stopping yourself from mindless scrolling.

Many young adults use social media, which gives them some advantages as well as disadvantages, as social media is helping people to stay connected to different communities. But prolonged use of social media can also lead to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, which can affect the daily lives of users. For the research, the researchers gathered 393 social media users between the ages of 17 and 29 who had experienced some form of negative effects of social media usage. These participants were then divided into three groups: a tutorial group which learned healthy social media habits, an abstinence group which stopped using social media completely, and a control group which continued their usual social media usage. The researchers tracked the social media activities of these groups for six weeks and assessed their mental health aspects.

The results of the study showed that the abstinence group saw a huge decline in their social media usage, while the tutorial group also became a little mindful and started using social media selectively. The results also showed that the abstinence and tutorial group spent less time scrolling on social media passively and stopped comparing themselves to others. The tutorial group saw significant changes while the abstinence group saw the biggest changes.

The researchers found that the results from each group proved to be effective in different mental health aspects. The tutorial group method is effective in reducing loneliness and FOMO, while the abstinence group method can help reduce anxiety and depression. On the other hand, the abstinence method wasn't effective for reducing loneliness, probably because it cut off social connection. This shows that completely cutting off social media may seem highly effective for various mental health issues, it can also lead to social isolation. The tutorial method helped participants use social media when it truly mattered, and they learned to notice when social media makes them feel good or bad, they started unfollowing or muting accounts that triggered negative feelings in them and they started engaging with their friends and family through comments and messages instead of mindless scrolling.