Taking a one-week break from social media platforms can reduce symptoms of depression by nearly 25 per cent, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center found that young adults who paused their use of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X also experienced significant reductions in anxiety and insomnia.
The cohort study monitored 373 participants aged 18 to 24 using “digital phenotyping” — passive smartphone sensing that tracks behaviour without relying solely on self-reports.
Among the 295 participants who completed the voluntary seven-day detox, depression symptoms dropped by 24.8 per cent. Anxiety symptoms decreased by 16.1 per cent, whilst insomnia severity fell by 14.5 per cent.
“In this cohort of young adults, reducing social media use for one week was associated with reductions in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and insomnia,” the researchers noted.
Symptom severity
The improvements were most pronounced among participants who started the study with higher baseline symptom severity.
However, the study found no significant improvement in feelings of loneliness, suggesting that disconnecting from these platforms may diminish feelings of social connection for some users.
The research highlighted a critical distinction between the sheer volume of social media use and the nature of that engagement. Objective measures, such as screen time counts and number of notifications, showed only weak associations with mental health outcomes.
In contrast, self-reported “problematic” use — characterised by addictive behaviours or negative social comparisons — was consistently associated with greater symptom severity.
“These findings suggest that the impact of social media on the mental health of young adults may depend less on the quantity of use and more on the emotional and psychological state in which use occurs,” the authors wrote.
Notably, while participants successfully reduced their social media usage by an average of 9.2 hours during the detox week, their overall screen time actually increased by 4.5 per cent. This suggests users replaced social media scrolling with other forms of digital engagement rather than disconnecting from their devices entirely.
