Helps reduce disorders such as anxiety and depression. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the University of Bath, in the United Kingdom, who analyzed the impact of this type of rest on users who used the platforms every day
A week of social media detox showed mental health benefits for users, according to research from the University of Bath
A week without using social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok , could improve people’s well-being and reduce mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
This is one of the conclusions reached a study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Bath, in the United Kingdom. The report sought to know the impact of the use of these platforms on the mental health of people after a week of rest. The results of the research were published in the American journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.
For the study, the specialists turned to 154 people between 18 and 72 years who used social networks every day. They were divided into two groups: some were asked to stop using the platforms for a week, while the others were asked to continue using them as usual. At the start of the study, baseline scores were taken to measure anxiety, depression, and well-being.
Participants reported spending an average of 8 hours per week online social at the beginning of the study. One week later, the participants who were asked to take a one-week break had significant improvements andn well-being, depression, and anxiety compared to those who continued to use social media, suggesting that short-term benefit may be seen by changing behavior.
On the other On the other hand, this study also found that people who took the one-week break reported using these social networks for an average of 21 minutes in that time, compared to an average of seven hours for the control group, which had no break. restrictions.
Which means that for some study participants, this meant freeing up about nine hours of their week that would otherwise have been spent swiping through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more. TikTok.
“Many of our participants reported noticing positive effects of staying away from social media.Among them, a better mood and less anxiety. This suggests that even a short break can have an impact,” said Bathz Department of Health Principal Investigator Dr. Jeff Lambert.
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram icons on a mobile phone. EFE/EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC
The researchers who carried out this study announced that they plan to carry out this experiment in different populations younger or with physical and mental health problems to see how this disconnection could benefit them.
“We know that social media use is huge and that there are growing concerns about its effects on mental health, so with this study we wanted to see if simply asking people to take a week-long break could benefits for mental health”, concluded Lambert.
In recent times and as the use of social networks has increased throughout the world, various studies have been carried out to analyze the impact they can have on people’s psyche.
According to a study published by the Royal Society of Public Health,social networks can be especially addictive in adolescence and this could have implications for the mental health of young people.
Even a report presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Neurology of the United States The United States indicated that the increase in the use of social networks that occurred during the pandemic may be related to an increase in the severity of tics.
In the study, 20 young adults ages 11 to 21 completed a survey about the time they spend on social media, the frequency and severity of tics, and overall quality of life. The vast majority (90%) of participants said they used social media more during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 85% indicated that their tics also became more frequent during that time. /p>
The impact of social networks on behavior and other aspects were also analyzeds in the documentary The dilemma of social networks < /b>premiered on Netflix in 2020. Studies are mentioned there that account for the negative consequences that social networks can cause, especially in adolescents.
It also has contributions from several references from the industry. Among them Tristan Harris, founder of the Center for Humane Technology, assures that this is not accidental but is an inherent part of the designs that are implemented in networks, post and messaging services.
The user has an urgent need to receive a reward that comes in the form of a comment, a “like”, a retweet or a feed that is continuously updated. Companies have created platforms that seek to take advantage of that dopamine, a neurotransmitter that participates in motivation and rewards in the face of pleasant stimuli, which is stimulated when a notification arrives indicating that someone has noticed us, explains the researcher.
Both Android and iOS have tools to know and manage the screen time
Digital Wellbeing
In response to these reports and the increased awareness of the effect that being online all day can have, tech companies have been developing different solutions to facilitate the management of screen time.
Thus, for example, both iOS andAndroid have tools to see the time spent on the screen and offer various options to block notifications and even access to certain applications for a certain time or until the tool is deactivated.
On Instagram a few months ago a function was enabled that allows scheduling reminders to take a break from the application. The option is within the settings menu. There you have to press Your activity/Time in the app.
In the case of minors, keep in mind that many applications such as Google, TikTok, Instagram or Facebook have parental control toolsthat allow you to set limits on use of the services.