The Benefits of Social Media Detox

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After a week filled with family reunions, long days of travel, and likely hours spent on personal devices navigating between social media platforms, many of us may feel the need to take a break. And according to a recently published study, a break — especially from social media — might be just the tonic to alleviate a host of negative mental health symptoms.

Study participants who engaged in a week-long social media detox, reducing their use of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and The researchers published their results in JAMA Open Network. More than 290 volunteers, aged 19 to 24 and typically spending around two hours a day on social media platforms, took part in the week-long reduction. Interestingly, the observed benefits did not require total abstention: participants simply reduced their consumption to about half an hour per day.

Read more: »Is Facebook making you depressed?»

Of course, reducing social media use is not a panacea for real mental health issues. Such detoxification “certainly would not be your first line or your only form of care,” said John Torous, a study co-author and a psychiatrist at Harvard University. The New York Times. The study also does not indicate how long-lasting these mental health benefits might be. But the research adds to a growing number of findings suggesting that even such brief breaks could be beneficial for mental health.

The article’s authors also point out that the nature of a person’s social media use, rather than the absolute amount of time spent on social media, appears to be a more important determinant of how one feels. “Interventions may be more effective if they aim to reduce problematic engagement rather than focusing exclusively on reducing overall use,” they write in the paper.

Even for people who aren’t experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression, or insomnia, spending a little more time eating leftovers with loved ones and a little less complaining about the lack of Instagrammable vacation plans probably can’t hurt. And the result could be another reward: Study participants saved an average of nine hours of their life thanks to the platforms, just during the detox week. Think about all the extra holiday shopping!

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Main image: Flash Vector / Shutterstock

• Bob Grant

  Published on December 1, 2025

  Bob Grant is the associate editor of Nautilus.