Every few months, another headline warns us about social media’s toxic effects on mental health, followed by calls to digital detox. Yet for many of us, completely unplugging isn’t super realistic. Now, new research from the University of British Columbia suggests we might not have to choose between staying connected and staying mentally healthy; there’s a middle path that could deliver the best of both worlds.
The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, challenges the popular belief that we must cut back on social media to protect our mental health. Instead, learning to use social media differently by focusing on meaningful connections rather than mindless scrolling or comparing ourselves to others, might be just as helpful for our emotional well-being.
“There’s a lot of talk about how damaging social media can be, but our team wanted to see if this was really the full picture or if the way people engage with social media might make a difference,” says lead study author Amori Mikami, a psychology professor from the University of British Columbia, in a statement.
The Love-Hate Relationship With Social Media
For most young adults, social media is a mixed bag. On one hand, platforms like Instagram and Facebook make it easy to stay in touch with friends, find communities of like-minded people, and get emotional support when needed. On the other hand, these same platforms can increase anxiety, depression, and loneliness when we find ourselves constantly comparing our regular lives to others’ highlight reels or feeling like we’re missing out on what everyone else is doing.
The research team recruited 393 social media users between the ages of 17 and 29 who reported some negative impacts from social media and had some symptoms of mental health concerns. They split these participants into three groups:
- A tutorial group that learned healthier ways to use social media
- An abstinence group that was asked to stop using social media entirely
- A control group that continued their usual social media habits
Over six weeks, researchers tracked participants’ social media use with phone screen time apps and self-reports. They also measured various aspects of mental well-being, including loneliness, anxiety, depression, and fear of missing out (FOMO).