What are the Mental Health Benefits with Social Media Detox? JAMA study sheds light
USA: A cohort study has found that cutting social media use for one week led to significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and insomnia among 18–24-year-olds, though loneliness did not improve. Further, the benefits were greater for individuals who had more severe symptoms at baseline.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open and led by Elombe Calvert from the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, explored whether taking a break from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X could meaningfully influence young adults’ mental health. The research comes at a time when the relationship between social media and psychological well-being remains an ongoing concern, with past evidence often inconsistent owing to self-reported estimates of use and limited real-time monitoring of behavior.
The investigators recruited young adults aged 18 to 24 years across the US between March 2024 and March 2025. Participants initially completed two weeks of baseline monitoring that tracked their screen activity, communication patterns, movement, and moment-to-moment emotional states. Following this phase, they were given the option of undertaking a one-week social media detox.
The study led to the following findings:
- Of the 417 enrolled participants, 373 completed baseline assessments, and 295 (79.1%) opted to undergo the social media detox.
- Problematic or high social media use was strongly linked with poorer mental health outcomes.
- Participants who reduced social media use showed notable improvements in their mental well-being.
- Anxiety symptoms decreased by 16.1% after the one-week detox.
- Depression scores reduced by 24.8%, indicating a substantial improvement.
- Insomnia symptoms dropped by 14.5% following the detox period.
- Loneliness levels did not change significantly, suggesting a limited impact on feelings of social connectedness.
- Passive monitoring showed slight increases in home time and overall screen duration during the detox.
- These behavioral changes were minimal compared with large within-person variability.
- No major changes were observed in mobility patterns, communication behavior, or real-time emotional assessments.
The researchers emphasized that while the findings highlight tangible short-term mental health benefits of reducing social media use, the long-term sustainability of these improvements remains unclear. Moreover, the study population was relatively narrow, consisting mainly of young adults who voluntarily enrolled, which may limit the generalizability of the results.
Still, the authors noted that individuals with more severe symptoms at the start of the study tended to benefit the most from stepping away from social media, indicating that brief digital interventions could hold promise as an accessible mental health strategy.
"Overall, the study adds important evidence to ongoing conversations about the role of digital habits in youth well-being. It suggests that even a short, structured break from social platforms may offer meaningful relief from anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances, while highlighting the need for further work to understand how these improvements can be maintained over time," they concluded.
Reference:
Calvert E, Cipriani M, Dwyer B, et al. Social Media Detox and Youth Mental Health. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(11):e2545245. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.45245
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