- Social media can make some people distracted, anxious, and depressed.
- Yet disconnecting completely can have both positive and negative effects, a new study found.
- Researchers say a "digital detox" won't leave you with any withdrawal symptoms.
Going on a full "digital detox" may not be all that beneficial after all, according to a new study by researchers at Durham University.
To find out whether "withdrawal symptoms" can really be linked to social media, they asked 51 students to avoid sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for a week. About a third of the participants had social-media behaviors that were defined as problematic.
Their mood was tracked for 15 days through a self-recorded survey.
During the week 86% "relapsed" at least once, but their average use time remained below 30 minutes.
However, the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that there was no evidence that disconnecting from your online life produces withdrawal symptoms.
They say that the findings show social media may not be as addictive as some claim.
The digital detox did cause the participants to feel fewer negative emotions, like intimidation and harassment, and many reported experiencing less FOMO.
However, their positive interactions also decreased. The participants experienced more boredom and loneliness due to a lack of connection and receiving social rewards like likes and comments, according to the study.
Experts haven't reached a consensus on how harmful and addictive social media really is. While the study's authors don't dispute that social media can have negative effects, they stressed that "addiction" isn't the right term to use.
Last year, in a landmark case on social media safety, a British inquest into the suicide of 14-year-old Molly Russell found it was "likely" that thousands of images she viewed on Instagram and Pinterest had affected her mental health in a way that "contributed to her death in a more than minimal way."
In the US, Meta is being sued by 33 states for fueling a youth mental health crisis and knowingly designing their social media platforms such as Instagram to be addictive to children.
"People who feel that they are using their phone too much, insofar as it is interfering with their quality of life, should maybe make their smartphone use more conscious, and keep their phone out of the way of idle hands," Sally Andrews, a psychologist at Nottingam Trent University, previously told Insider.
- Mitandao ya kijamii yaweza kuwafanya watu fulani wawe na wasiwasi, wasiwasi, na kushuka moyo. Kuondoa uhusiano na mtu mwingine kunaweza kuwa na athari nzuri na hasi, utafiti mpya unaonyesha. - Watafiti wanasema "detox digital" si kuondoka na dalili yoyote ya uondoaji. Kuchukua detox ya dijiti inaweza kuwa na faida kubwa kwa afya yako, kulingana na utafiti wa hivi karibuni uliofanywa na Chuo Kikuu cha Durham. Ili kujua ikiwa dalili za kujiondoa zinahusiana na mitandao ya kijamii, watafiti waliwaomba wanafunzi 51 kuepuka Facebook, Instagram na TikTok kwa wiki moja. Karibu theluthi moja ya washiriki walikuwa na tabia za mitandao ya kijamii ambazo zilifafanuliwa kama tatizo. Watu hao walifuatilia hali yao ya moyo kwa siku 15 kupitia uchunguzi waliofanya. Wakati wa wiki, asilimia 86 ya watu walianza tena kutumia dawa hiyo angalau mara moja, lakini wastani wa muda waliotumia dawa hiyo ulikuwa chini ya dakika 30. Utafiti huo, uliochapishwa katika jarida la PLOS ONE, uligundua kuwa hakuna ushahidi kwamba kuondolewa kwa maisha yako ya mtandaoni kunazalisha dalili za kujiondoa. "Wanasema matokeo hayo yanaonyesha kuwa vyombo vya habari vya kijamii huenda visivutia kama wengine wanavyodai.""" Utoaji wa digital ulifanya washiriki wahisi hisia chache za hasi, kama vile vitisho na unyanyasaji, na wengi waliripoti uzoefu wa FOMO kidogo. Hata hivyo, mahusiano yao mazuri pia yalipungua. Washiriki walipata uchovu na upweke zaidi kutokana na ukosefu wa uhusiano na kupokea tuzo za kijamii kama vile kupenda na maoni. Wataalamu hawajafikia makubaliano juu ya jinsi vyombo vya habari vya kijamii vinavyoweza kuwa na madhara na kuathiri. "Wanafunzi wa utafiti huo wanasema kuwa ""mitandao ya kijamii inaweza kuwa na athari mbaya,"" lakini wanasema ""utumiaji wa madawa ya kulevya"" sio neno sahihi." Katika kesi ya usalama wa mitandao ya kijamii, uchunguzi wa Uingereza wa kujiua kwa Molly Russell, mwenye umri wa miaka 14, uligundua kuwa kuna uwezekano kwamba maelfu ya picha alizozitazama kwenye Instagram na Pinterest ziliathiri afya yake ya akili kwa njia ambayo ilichangia kifo chake. Meta imeshtakiwa na majimbo 33 nchini Marekani kwa kuchochea mgogoro wa afya ya akili ya vijana na kwa kujua kubuni mitandao yao ya kijamii kama vile Instagram kuwa ya kulevya kwa watoto. "Watu ambao wanahisi kwamba wanatumia simu zao nyingi sana, kwa kadiri inayovuruga ubora wa maisha yao, labda wanapaswa kufanya matumizi yao ya simu zao za mkononi kuwa na ufahamu zaidi, na kuweka simu zao mbali na njia ya mikono ya idle, ""Sally Andrews, mwanasaikolojia katika Chuo Kikuu cha Nottingham Trent, alisema."