'SNS detox,' which involves refraining from social media out of concern for mental health, may actually be bad for your health
The use of social media (SNS) can cause problems, such as being too concerned about updates and replies, interfering with work or study, causing problems in relationships due to faceless interactions, and damaging mental health due to slander and posts that are painful to see. For this reason, some people think that we should refrain from using SNS and do an ' SNS detox ,' but according to a study conducted by a team from the Psychology Department at Durham University in the UK, refraining from using SNS may actually be damaging to mental health.
Restricting social networking site use for one week produces varied effects on mood but does not increase explicit or implicit desires to use SNSs: Findings from an ecological momentary assessment study | PLOS ONE
Why a social media detox may not be as good for you as you think – new research
https://theconversation.com/why-a-social-media-detox-may-not-be-as-good-for-you-as-you-think-new-research-217484
To study the effects of a 'social media detox,' Niklas Ehsen and Michael Wasley from Durham University's School of Psychology asked students to abstain from social media for a week.
According to a survey on social media conducted by research company DataReportal in 2023, internet users aged 16 to 64 spend an average of more than two and a half hours per day on social media, but the Durham University students who participated in this study used social media for an average of three to four hours per day.
The image below is a graph showing how much SNS usage time changed from day to day. The vertical axis is time, divided by a line every 100 minutes. The horizontal axis is the number of days, and the first few days of the study are the survey period for SNS usage time, with participants being instructed to refrain from using SNS on the '4th day'. The green graph is the total screen time using smartphones, and the blue graph is the time spent using SNS. According to the graph, SNS use was reduced by nearly 200 minutes after the instructions were given, and screen time was reduced by about 100 minutes accordingly. In addition, we can see that even after the 11th day when SNS use was lifted, SNS usage time was reduced from the original time.
In the study, participants were asked to complete daily questionnaires while abstaining from social media, and a lab session was also conducted after the period. As a result, despite the SNS detox, there was no improvement in the participants' health. On the contrary, it was confirmed that participants experienced a decrease in positive emotions during the period when they were banned from social media.
The graph below shows the psychological changes during the period. The blue bars show the original values, the green bars show the SNS detox period, and the red bars show the survey results for the period after the detox ended. According to the graph, we can see that 'Positive Affect' on the far left is reduced by the SNS detox. 'Negative Affect' also decreased by the SNS detox, and increased when the detox was released, so we can see that 'SNS detox suppresses negative emotions, but at the same time reduces positive emotions.' In addition, there are slight changes in the values for 'Boredom,' 'Loneliness,' and 'Cravings' from period to period, but the paper states that the difference is not significant.
Explaining why positive emotions decreased after a social media detox, the researchers said, 'SNS provide powerful and quantifiable social rewards through reactions from strangers and friends, gaining followers, etc. SNS also provide short-term entertainment and pleasure, but our
Furthermore, because there was no significant change in the 'cravings' value, the researchers concluded that 'refraining from using SNS does not seem to cause withdrawal symptoms like those seen when quitting drug use.' People who are obsessed with SNS are often called 'SNS addicts,' but the researchers point out that using the word 'addiction' here should be careful in the strict sense because it runs the risk of pathologizing normal behavior unnecessarily and portraying technology as a villain.
As a result, SNS has both good and bad sides, and if you are going to do a SNS detox, you need to take action to remove the bad side, rather than just refraining from using it completely. Detox is an abbreviation of 'detoxification,' which means 'removing toxins and waste from the body.' However, if you remove more substances from your body than necessary for health or dieting, you will suffer from a lack of energy. In the same way, with a SNS detox, you need to know your limits, understand the positive rewards, and deal with them individually, such as unfollowing accounts you think are unnecessary and deleting apps and bookmarks that you don't like, the researchers say.
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