Social media is all fun, but the downside may far outweigh the momentary thrills. Researchers at Stanford University recently conducted one of the largest studies on the effects of social media and emotional health. The study has shown the benefits of staying away from social media and who all can take the most advantage of a social media detox.
Over the last few years, there has been a growing interest in addressing the psychological cost of social media. The latest study led by Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow, professors at Stanford University in California, US, along with research associates at the National Bureau of Economic Research, raises some serious questions.
The study, which is essentially one of the largest randomised controlled trials (RCT) experiments, examined what happens when people stop using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The key question addressed by the new research is: can a social media detox truly improve our well-being?
How did they conduct the study?
The study titled ‘The Effect of Deactivating Facebook and Instagram on Users’ Emotional State’ involved over 35,000 social media users who were randomly asked to deactivate either Facebook or Instagram in the six weeks leading to the 2020 US presidential elections.
“We ran two parallel experiments, with Facebook and Instagram as the respective ‘focal plat form.’ For each focal platform, Meta drew a stratified random sample of users who were in the US, were age 18 or older, and had logged in at least once in the past month. From August 31 to September 12, Meta placed survey invitations at the top of these users’ focal platform news feeds,” read the paper.
According to the research, people who clicked on the invitations were told about the study and asked what weekly payments they would be willing to accept to deactivate their focal platform accounts for either one or six weeks. The users who were willing to deactivate for $25 per week and consented to participate were immediately directed to the website of the National Opinion Research Corporation (NORC) to complete an enrolment survey.
The study saw almost 20,000 regular Facebook users and 15,500 regular Instagram users in the US. These users reportedly spent 15 minutes every day on the platform before the study. As part of the study, everyone deactivated their account for at least one week and received $25. However, one quarter of each group agreed to remain deactivated for six weeks for $150.
Story continues below this ad
This allowed the researchers to compare the pause of one week with a month-and-a half-long pause. The researchers then measured their moods by asking them to fill out a simple survey rating how happy, anxious, or sad they felt over the week or month. Some of the users also allowed the researchers to track where they spent their freed-up time.
What did the researchers find?
Most importantly, the researchers noted that the overall mood of the users improved. Those who took a break from Facebook for six weeks felt about six per cent of a standard deviation happier than those who deactivated for a week. Similarly, those who took a long break from Instagram reported an uplifted mood of about 4 per cent of a standard deviation. In simple words, although these are small changes, they showed clear boosts in well-being.
When it comes to the age of the users, Facebook users who were 35 and above showed the biggest mood lift. On the other hand, Instagram users between 18 and 24, especially women, felt the strongest boost in happiness. But the question was, how did they use their freed-up time? Those from the Instagram group immediately switched to other apps without spending more time offline. Meanwhile, the Facebook group, on average, spent an extra nine minutes per day away from all screens. However, most of their free time was diverted to other apps.
What are the limitations?
It needs to be noted that only about 0.5 per cent of those invited actually signed up, so these results were mainly from the self-selecting group willing to be paid to quit. The researchers note that the study’s results may have differed if it had been held at a different time of year or for a longer period, as it ran for six weeks before the US election. Also, the emotional state of users was measured by surveys, which can be influenced by how the respondent wants to appear. Also, being aware that one is a part of the study can impact how they report their feelings.
Story continues below this ad
Based on the study, an extended break from social media can lead to a small yet meaningful lift in one’s emotional well-being. However, users need to understand that this is a short, paid trial, and most of us are prone to switching from one screen/app to another. However, the biggest takeaway is a social media break that can offer a meaningful boost to your emotional well-being.
Guardiola on Al-Hilal: “They have a lot of quality. They are a complete team that can run and run”