Taking a break from social media does not appear to lift your mood or make you more satisfied with life. A meta-analysis of 10 studies found no significant effect of social media abstinence on positive feelings, negative feelings or life satisfaction.
The review was carried out by Laura Lemahieu, Yannick Vander Zwalmen, Marthe Mennes, Ernst H. W. Koster, Mariek M. P. Vanden Abeele and Karolien Poels. It was published in Scientific Reports on March 4, 2025.
The so-called social media detox has become a popular strategy for people who want to feel better. But individual studies have reported mixed results: some found benefits, others harm, and others nothing at all.
Ten studies, 4,674 participants
The preregistered review searched six databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, for experiments in which people stopped using social media completely. Studies that only asked people to cut back were left out.
Ten studies met the criteria, covering 4,674 adults, about 65% of them women. Sample sizes ranged from 35 to 2,813, and several studies recruited students.
The breaks were short, lasting between 1 and 28 days. Seven days was the most common length, and Facebook was the platform most often given up.
No measurable change in mood
Across 14 effect sizes, the pooled effect on positive affect was essentially zero (g = 0.03). The effect on negative affect was also near zero (g = -0.01), and so was the effect on life satisfaction across 10 effect sizes (g = 0.03). None was statistically significant.
Longer breaks did not help either. Meta-regressions found no link between the number of days off social media and any of the three outcomes.
One sensitivity check pointed in a slightly different direction. When only between-subjects studies were kept, the effect on positive affect became borderline significant at g = 0.13.
The authors suggest that benefits such as feeling calmer may be offset by drawbacks such as boredom or fear of missing out. About half the studies measured side effects, including loneliness, boredom and craving.
Their summary is blunt: abstaining “does not make you feel better; nor does it make you feel worse.”
Caveats from the authors
Compliance was often poor. In one study only 13.7% of participants stayed off social media for the full week, and another found that 59% visited social media at least once during a seven-day break.
Most of the included studies were small, few ran a power analysis, and the review itself had low statistical power to detect small effects. Studies were mostly done in Western countries with student samples, and several did not define which apps counted as social media.
The authors also note that a break imposed by researchers may work differently from one people choose for themselves. They point to longer breaks, daily well-being measures and attention to individual differences as the next tests worth running.
Study Details:
- Title: The effects of social media abstinence on affective well-being and life satisfaction: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Authors: Laura Lemahieu, Yannick Vander Zwalmen, Marthe Mennes, Ernst H. W. Koster, Mariek M. P. Vanden Abeele, Karolien Poels
- Journal: Scientific Reports
- Publication Date: March 4, 2025
- DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-90984-3