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Then suddenly-oops - hours have gone by.
Studies agree.
In a 2022 randomized controlled trial, 154 adults were asked either to stop using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for one week or continue using them as usual. After just seven days, the people who took the break reported significantly greater well-being and lower levels of depression and anxiety than the control group. A 2025 JAMA Network Open study found similar short-term benefits from a one-week social-media detox among young adults. Symptoms of anxiety decreased by 16.1%, depression by 24.8%, and insomnia by 14.5%.
A 2025 randomized controlled trial went further, blocking mobile internet access on smartphones for two weeks while still allowing calls and texts. Participants experienced improvements in mental health, well-being, and sustained attention.
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examined 71 studies involving 98,299 people and found that greater short-form video use was associated with poorer cognitive performance. The researchers also found associations with poorer mental health, including anxiety, depression, and stress.
What's especially fascinating is the design of short-form video itself. TikTok, Reels and Shorts are built around an endless stream of rapidly changing content. You don't have to decide what to watch next. The algorithm does it for you. A 2025 study of 745 social-media users found that this kind of habitual, almost automatic “scroll immersion” was associated with attention difficulties, working-memory disruption, and cognitive fatigue. And yet another study used EEG brain recordings to look at short-form video use and attention. Among 48 participants, greater tendency toward short-video addiction was associated with weaker measures of executive control in the prefrontal region and lower self-control.
Governments are beginning to place limits on young people's access to social media. Australia became the first country to put a nationwide under-16 social-media account restriction into effect.
Ranking Social Media From Least Addictive to Most
Apps that help with self-control
There are apps that block access to social media and other websites.
Freedom
AppBlock
Opal
One Sec
The Benefits!
Life opens up. When you step away from social media, you’re not choosing a disconnected life. You’re actually choosing a more connected one!
Some of the advantages are:
Time
Time is one of your most important assets. You'll have more time to pick up hobbies, learn new skills, read books, learn languages, exercise, get outside, and spend time with people you love. Hours you used to spend aimlessly scrolling are now spent having amazing lived experiences.
Focus
Your ability to focus improves. You can dig into work without distraction. Finish projects you've been putting off. Discover new passions. Garden, paint, work on woodworking projects, bake bread, write that book you always talked about...instead of letting algorithms dictate what’s worthy of your attention, you can learn to be more intentional with your time and energy.
Relationships
Relationships improve when you’re no longer scrolling through life. You have better conversations. Meals become about spending time with loved ones. You're fully present with your friends, family, and spouse.
Presence
You start to enjoy the little things more. You no longer feel the need to share everything on social media. Instead, you sit back and soak in a beautiful sunrise because, well, it’s beautiful.
Gratitude
It’s easy to scroll past happiness when you're constantly comparing your life to everyone else’s highlight reel, or bombarded with ads. Once you remove social media, you become more grateful for what you already have.
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