A 1-week social media break could boost your mental health

• Cutting back on social media for a week resulted in less anxiety, depression, and insomnia for participants in a new study.
• Extensive social media engagement is viewed as potentially damaging to mental health, although its use is widespread and growing.
• Experts say that scrolling through social media feeds risks replacing real-world experiences, which are more likely to be protective of mental well-being.

For young adults, cutting back on social media for a week resulted in a significant reduction in anxiety, depression, and insomnia in a new study published in JAMA Network Open.

Participants in the study reported 16% fewer anxiety symptoms, 24.8% fewer symptoms of depression, and 14.5% less insomnia.

The study involved 373 individuals ages 18 to 24, each of whom was paid $150 to participate. Of the cohort, 277 were female, 73 were male, 12 were non-binary, 9 were transgender, and 2 were listed as ‘Other’.

Five platforms were of special interest to the study authors:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• X

Participants were allowed to reduce their screen time as they saw fit. They reduced their use across all platforms. However, Instagram and Snapchat were the platforms with the highest rates of continued use. Individuals were more likely to forgo TikTok than Instagram or Snapchat. Facebook and X were the platforms most likely to be visited less during the study.

The study’s findings join an ongoing conversation among experts regarding the effects of screen time and social media on mental health, particularly for young adults and teens.

A meta-study published in June 2025 found widespread evidence that taking a break from social media can be beneficial in general.