According to a KQED.com article, with U.S. teenagers spending over eight hours a day on screens, there’s growing concern about how social media may affect their mental health.

A new study by the American Psychological Association has some promising new findings, echoing what parents may have experienced in real life: when teens cut back on social media, they appear to feel better about themselves.

“Social media can feel like a comparison trap,” says the study’s author Helen Thai, a psychology doctoral student at McGill University. Born out of her own experience on social media, her research found that limiting screen time to approximately one hour a day helped teens and young adults with symptoms of anxiety or depression feel better about their body image and their appearance.

Thai noticed that when she was scrolling through posts from celebrities, influencers, and even her own peers, feelings of inferiority would rise: “I couldn’t help but compare myself.”

“They looked prettier, healthier, more fit,” Thai explained. Even though she knew full well that social media images are frequently altered, polished, or airbrushed, the unrealistic images still had a negative effect on her.

So Thai and her research team decided to examine whether cutting back on social media – such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok – would improve body image. They recruited a few hundred volunteers in the 17-25 age range, each of whom had experienced anxiety or depression symptoms, making them particularly vulnerable to the risk of social media harm.

For three weeks, half of the participants were tasked with reducing their social media to 60 minutes a day. The other half continued to use social media as usual, which averaged about three hours a day.

Participants received surveys at the start and end of the study, with statements like “I’m pretty happy about the way I look,” and “I am satisfied with my weight.” For the group that limited their social media exposure, “the overall score on appearance improved from 2.95 to 3.15 on a 5-point scale,” a striking shift in such a short period of time, the authors noted.

Other experts agree. “This randomized controlled trial showed promising results that weight and appearance esteem can improve when people cut back on social media use,” said psychologist Andrea Graham, co-director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention at Northwestern University.

Graham also noted that it was encouraging that college students were willing to cut back their screen usage, adding that this approach could be tried with other groups, such as people struggling with eating disorders, or a wider population not dealing with specified mental health challenges.

The study begs another question, says Thai. Since “the digital world is here to stay,” she wonders, “how do we adapt to this new world in a way where it wouldn’t negatively impact us or control us?”

Here are some suggestions from experts:

1. Curate your social media feed – cull out content that makes you feel bad

Instagram and TikTok are awash with idealized images of bodies, many doctored with filters making people appear more trim, tan, poreless, or wrinkle-free. “The algorithm is pushing body-centric content to you because that’s what sells,” explains Lexie Kite, co-author with her twin sister of More Than a Body: Your Body is an Instrument, Not an Ornament. Social media platforms provide a megaphone for harmful cultural messages particularly aimed at girls and women, that their value lies in their looks and sex appeal.

Social media users need to be aware of – and push back on – those messages. “Be incredibly mindful, as you scroll, of how each creator, each image, each account makes you feel,” Kite urges. She has decided that if a post leaves her feeling unhappy or less-than, she will choose to mute or unfollow that account. “You are the only one who can curate your feed,” she says.

2. Turn off your devices one day each week

Artist and film-maker Tiffany Shlain has discovered power in unplugging one day a week. When her children were young, her family began the tradition of turning off their devices every Friday evening, taking a 24-hour break she calls a “Tech Shabbat.”

“There’s something about that full day off each week that really resets me and each member of my family in a deep way,” she says. And by disconnecting from social media, “It’s the day I feel most connected to my family.”

Shlain, the author of 24/6: Giving up Screens One Day a Week to Get More Time, Creativity, and Connection, is now working on a film about the adolescent brain. For teenagers, on the weekend the fear of missing out, or FOMO, is most acute. On social media, everyone is presenting their best, happiest, most “popular” selves. It’s hard not to compare, but “comparison is the thief of joy,” she says, so Friday night can be a particularly good time to log off.

3. Turn off notifications and set time limits on use of social media apps

If you aim to limit social media to an hour a day, use a screen time tracker to show how long you spend on each app. “Smartphones allow you to set limits for individual apps to help with managing use,” Thai says.

You can also turn off any social media notifications so they don’t pop up on your home screen.

4. Invest the time you spent on social media in real-life activities instead

Social media connection is a poor substitute for connecting with friends in real life, so make some in-person plans. Or invest in self care, doing things you’ve intended to try or do more consistently, whether exercise, reading or learning something new.

Northwestern University’s Graham adds that doing something fun can help improve your mental health as well, “so cutting back on social media use and doing something enjoyable may lead to a bonus benefit.”

5. Connect with encouraging people who share your interests and values

In the time you do spend on social media, find inspiring, encouraging, or uplifting people or stories. Connect with others who share your interests or goals. Kite shares that she has a habit of unfollowing people who make her feel uncomfortable, “and I replace them with activists.”

She also gravitates toward content creators who are willing to show up on screen without a filter, who are not afraid to be their authentic human selves. “I love seeing that in my social media feed,” she says.

To learn more on how to take your life back from social media, read the full article here.

Or read the APA study here.

Aubrey, Allison. “How to help young people limit screen time –– and improve their body image.” KQED.com, 26 Feb 2023, https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/61126/how-to-help-young-people-limit-screen-time-and-improve-their-body-image.

Photo by Graphic Node on Unsplash