A study published in the *Journal of Affective Disorders* indicates that restricting social media use to one hour a day can decrease loneliness in young adults experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The findings show that this simple behavioral change benefits all participants equally, regardless of their gender or how often they compare themselves to others online. These findings suggest that managing screen time could be an effective strategy for treating loneliness in vulnerable populations.

Humans have a deep biological need for social connection, which helps protect against emotional distress.

When young people feel lonely, they are at a higher risk of developing or worsening symptoms of anxiety and depression. Although social media platforms were created to bring people together, observational research frequently links heavy use of these platforms with increased social isolation.

Previous experimental studies testing this relationship have yielded mixed results, often showing minor effects from abstaining from social media.

Many of these studies focused on individuals who were not experiencing emotional distress. In psychological research, this is known as a floor effect, where a measurement cannot go any lower. The scientists conducting the current study wanted to focus specifically on young people who were already experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression, who often experience higher levels of loneliness.

Study author Gary Goldfield, a senior scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and a professor at the University of Ottawa, commented: “I have studied the impact of screens on health and mental health for many years, and given social media is the screen type that occupies the majority of screen time, and is here to stay, I feel it’s important to study its impacts on development, health and wellbeing”.

Goldfield added: “Social media is a tool developed to strengthen social connections, which of course should reduce feelings of social isolation (in theory), but despite near constant digital connection, about 25% of youth feel lonely. Indeed, some studies found that high social media use was associated with greater loneliness and social isolation, not less, with some evidence to suggest that high social media use displaces high quality, in-person recreational activities and social interaction with friends and family”.

For their study, the researchers recruited undergraduate students from a Canadian university. The initial sample included 260 young adults between the ages of 17 and 25.

To participate, individuals had to own a smartphone and use social media for at least two hours a day, as well as report experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression. After a baseline week, the scientists randomly divided the participants into two groups for a three-week experiment. The intervention group was instructed to restrict their social media use to a maximum of one hour per day, while the control group received no instructions and continued using their devices as usual.

Of the original participants, 219 completed the four-week study and were included in the final analysis.

The intervention group successfully followed the instructions, cutting their daily social media time by an average of 78 minutes, which amounted to a 50 percent reduction. At the end of the three weeks, the scientists assessed the participants’ loneliness levels again using a standardized psychological survey called the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The researchers found that the group asked to limit their social media use showed a significant decrease in loneliness compared to the control group.

This provides evidence that cutting back on social media actively reduces feelings of loneliness in distressed youth.

The scientists noted that the intervention aligns with behavioral displacement theory. This theory suggests that time spent on social media replaces time that could be spent on direct, in-person social interactions. By limiting screen time, individuals likely freed up time to connect with friends and family in the real world.

Goldfield told PsyPost: “I think the important takeaway is that high social media use is harmful to mental health and can make people feel more lonely and isolated, and reducing social media and connecting with friends and family in-person is a much more potent way of promoting social connection and alleviating loneliness”.

The study, “Reducing social media use decreases loneliness regardless of gender or level of social comparisons in youth with anxiety and depression: A randomized controlled trial”, was authored by Gary S. Goldfield, Marcus V.V. Lopes, Wardah Mahboob, Sabrina Perry, and Christopher G. Davis.