Less anxiety, depression and insomnia for kids who give up social media for a week
The topic of smartphones and social networking is a hot topic, following the alarms sounded in recent days by paediatricians on the increasingly intensive and precocious use of devices and screens by children and young people
Key points
One week of detoxification from Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, Snapchat, X and other social networking sites is enough to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms and insomnia. This was revealed in a study in Jama Network Open led by Maddalena Cipriani of the University of Bath. At the beginning of the study, which involved 373 participants aged 21 on average, it was found that problematic social media use was significantly associated with mental health problems such as anxiety disorders, depression, and insomnia. After two weeks of monitoring the sample, the young people had to reduce their use of social media (detox phase) in the third week. Well, it turned out that the social media detoxification intervention significantly reduced all those symptoms linked precisely to the deterioration of the youngsters' mental health
The study on the problematic use of social
The issue of smartphones and social networking is a hot topic, after the alarms sounded by paediatricians in recent days about the increasingly intensive and precocious use of devices and screens by children and young people, and after the crackdown on mobile phones in the classroom. But does detaching oneself from screens and social media work? Science is promoting the digital detox, showing a positive impact on young people's mental health. According to a study conducted on 18-24 year olds, taking a break is a useful strategy with measurable effects. In detail, the authors - scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston (USA) and the University of Bath, Bath (UK) - evaluated the beneficial potential of a week-long 'social detox'. The research, published in Jama Network Open, involved a cohort of 373 participants. Experts found that problematic social media use was significantly associated with worse mental health outcomes. A seven-day 'detoxification' intervention was able to reduce symptoms of anxiety by 16.1%, depression by 24.8%, and insomnia by 14.5%.
Short-term interventions under the lens
The cohort study was conducted in the United States using a national recruitment registry between March 2024 and March 2025. First, the enrolled teens completed a 2-week baseline observation period, followed by an optional 1-week social detox intervention. During the observation period, the authors framed their use of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and X. The age group chosen to conduct the research is one that is consistently identified in the literature as being at a higher risk for the onset of related mental health problems, a transitional phase (leading into adulthood) characterised by increased vulnerability. The experts decided to evaluate short-term interventions as 'more feasible to reduce problematic social use and improve well-being in young populations'.
Highest rates of utilisation during detoxification
In the study, 295 participants completed the digital detox. The majority (265) actually reduced the time spent in front of the screen by an average of 9.2 hours. Instagram and Snapchat showed the highest rates of use during the detox, while participants were most likely to reduce their use of TikTok, and X and Facebook were the socials for which the highest level of adherence to the detox was recorded. The observed impact on symptoms of mental health issues is described as 'significant' by the authors, and statistically significant changes were also found in the domains of screen use and mobility of the children. "These results," the authors conclude, "suggest that digital behaviour modification interventions can improve mental health. However, the duration of these results and their impact on behaviour warrant further studies, particularly in a more diverse population."
