Using social media with more intention can help to protect your mental health. (PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock)
In a nutshell
New research from the University of British Columbia found that both quitting social media and using it more intentionally can improve mental health, but in different ways. Mindful engagement helps reduce fear of missing out (FOMO) and loneliness, while quitting social media entirely is more effective at lowering anxiety and depression.
The study’s tutorial group learned to engage more intentionally by unfollowing accounts that triggered negative feelings, limiting social comparisons, and focusing on real interactions with friends. These small shifts helped them naturally reduce social media use and feel more connected.
While taking a break can reduce anxiety and depression, the study found that completely logging off might increase loneliness due to reduced engagement with friends. A balanced approach, curating a positive feed and engaging meaningfully, may offer the best of both worlds.
VANCOUVER, Canada — 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.
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.
While social media can be a positive experience, it can also cause be negative for your mental health. (Photo by Alex Green from Pexels)
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.
A digital detox isn’t realistic for everyone, but finding a personal balance with social media can be a better approach. (Troyan/Shutterstock)
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.
So what does this mean for the average social media user? You don’t necessarily need to delete your accounts to protect your mental health. Learning to use social media more intentionally—focusing on real connections, paying attention to how different content makes you feel, and cleaning up your feed to emphasize positive content—might be just as helpful, especially for fighting loneliness and FOMO.
“For many young people, it’s not about logging off. It’s about leaning in—in the right way,” says Mikami.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers designed a six-week experimental study with 393 young adults (ages 17-29) who reported some negative effects from social media and had elevated symptoms of psychological concerns like anxiety or depression. These participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a tutorial group, an abstinence group, or a control group. Each experimental condition involved three separate 15-minute online modules containing videos, infographics, and interactive activities. Researchers tracked actual social media use through screenshots of phone screen time apps and participants’ self-reports while measuring psychological well-being through questionnaires assessing fear of missing out, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and eating concerns.
Results
Both the tutorial and abstinence groups showed reductions in the quantity of social media use (with abstinence showing the strongest effect), the total amount of social comparisons made on social media, and passive scrolling behaviors. The tutorial group uniquely showed significant improvements in fear of missing out (FOMO) and feelings of loneliness. The abstinence group uniquely showed significant improvements in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Neither approach affected eating-related concerns or changed the tendency to make upward social comparisons.
Limitations
The study primarily measured negative aspects of well-being (like anxiety and loneliness) rather than positive ones or overall life satisfaction. Participants’ perceptions of intervention helpfulness were measured inconsistently across groups. The researchers had planned to analyze participants’ actual interactions on their social media profiles, but most participants had too few interactions during the study period to permit meaningful analysis. There were demographic differences between participants who completed all parts of the study versus those who dropped out. The study took place partly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people may have relied more heavily on social media for connection due to physical distancing measures. The six-week duration, while longer than many similar studies, may not be sufficient to assess long-term effects.
Discussion and Takeaways
The findings suggest that both using social media differently and abstaining from it can benefit well-being but in different ways. The research challenges the common assumption that reducing social media use is the only solution to its potential negative effects on mental health. Instead, it suggests a more personalized approach might be beneficial, with users choosing strategies based on their specific well-being concerns. For those primarily struggling with loneliness and FOMO, learning to use social media more intentionally might be particularly helpful. For those dealing with symptoms of depression and anxiety, taking more substantial breaks from social media might offer greater benefits.
Funding and Disclosures
The study was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through an Insight Grant awarded to Amori Yee Mikami. The authors acknowledged contributions from undergraduate and graduate research assistants who helped collect data, particularly Gian Hermosura, Hannah Kim, and Nicole Wu, as well as Emma Gunn, Michaela Dunn, and Ella Chan for assistance with technical and graphic design aspects of the study modules. The researchers declared no conflicts of interest, and the work had not been previously published.
Publication Information
The study, titled “Logging Out or Leaning In? Social Media Strategies for Enhancing Well-Being,” was conducted by Amori Yee Mikami, Adri Khalis, and Vasileia Karasavva from the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. It was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General in November 2024 (published online on November 7, 2024).