Log out or lean in? The way you use social media matters more than how long you scroll
Using social media with more intention can help to protect your mental health. (PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock)
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).
Two Different Paths to Better Mental Health
As you might expect, people in the abstinence group drastically reduced their time on social media. But, the tutorial group also cut back on their social media use compared to the control group, even though they were never specifically told to do so. Just becoming more mindful about social media naturally led them to be more selective about their usage.
Both the tutorial and abstinence groups made fewer social comparisons and did less passive scrolling. While the abstinence group showed the biggest changes, the tutorial group also improved significantly compared to the control group.
When it came to mental health benefits, each approach seemed to help with different things. The tutorial approach was especially good at reducing FOMO and feelings of loneliness. The abstinence approach, meanwhile, was particularly effective at lowering symptoms of depression and anxiety but did not improve loneliness, possibly due to reduced social connections.
“Cutting off social media might reduce some of the pressures young adults feel around presenting a curated image of themselves online. But stopping social media might also deprive young adults of social connections with friends and family, leading to feelings of isolation,” explains Mikami.
Creating a Healthier Social Media Experience
The tutorial approach taught participants how to use social media in ways that boost genuine connection while reducing the stress of constant comparison. Participants learned to:
Reflect on when social media made them feel good versus bad
Recognize that most posts are carefully curated and don’t reflect real life
Unfollow or mute accounts that triggered negative feelings about themselves
Actively engage with friends through comments or messages instead of just passively scrolling
Completely stopping social media reduced activity on friends’ pages, which actually predicted greater loneliness. It seems that commenting on friends’ content provides a valuable social connection. However, reducing engagement with celebrity or influencer content predicted lower loneliness and fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety—showing that not all social media activity affects us the same way.
“Social media is here to stay,” says Mikami. “And for many people, quitting isn’t a realistic option. But with the right guidance, young adults can curate a more positive experience, using social media to support their mental health instead of detracting from it.”
Mikami believes these findings could help develop mental health programs and school workshops where young people learn to use social media as a tool for strengthening relationships rather than as a source of stress and comparison.
