Causal Effects of Social Media Use on Self-esteem, Mindfulness, Sleep and Emotional Well-being: A Social Media Restriction Study

The question whether social media use (SMU) has a causal influence on mental health sparks a lot of interest. Empirical research to date shows no consensus on the causal effects of SMU on mental well-being. Therefore, the present study assessed if experimentally implemented restrictions in SMU led to improvements in well-being outcomes using a combination of self-report and passive sensing data. After a two week baseline phase, participants (M age = 21.42 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental (N = 35) or a passive control (N = 32) condition. Participants in the experimental condition were asked to limit their SMU to a maximum of 30 minutes (divided across their preferred apps) per day for two consecutive weeks, while participants in the control condition were instructed to continue their SMU as usual. After the intervention phase, participants in both conditions were followed up for two weeks during which all restrictions were removed. During the experiment, we monitored self-esteem, mindfulness, sleep, and emotional well-being. Results indicate a main effect of time for most outcomes, but the implemented SMU restriction did not moderate these effects. In conclusion, this study found no benefits from a temporary social media reduction on mental health.