Washington — Teens and young adults who reduced their social media use by 50% in just a few weeks had lower weight and overall I have noticed a significant improvement in how I feel about both my appearance and my physical appearance. By the American Psychological Association.
“Adolescence is a time when body image issues, eating disorders and mental illness are most likely to develop,” said lead author Dr. Gary Goldfield of the Eastern Ontario Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “Young people spend an average of six to eight hours a day on screens, much of it on social media. Social media is where users interact with hundreds of people every day, including celebrities, fashion and fitness models. , can be exposed to thousands of images and photographs in some cases, and this has been shown to lead to the internalization of unattainable beauty ideals for most people, resulting in increased body dissatisfaction. “Weight and shape.”
However, Goldfield says much of the psychological research on social media, body image, and mental health is correlational, meaning that people with body image or mental health issues spend more time on social media. It is unclear whether social media use is linked to improved health. Body image and mental health issues.
To better understand the causal effect of reducing social media use on body image, Goldfield and colleagues previously conducted a pilot study of 38 undergraduate students with elevated levels of anxiety and depression. carried out. Some participants were asked to limit their social media use to no more than 60 minutes per day, while others were allowed unlimited access. Compared to participants who had unlimited access, those who had limited use saw improvements in overall appearance (but not weight) after three weeks. However, due to the small sample size, the researchers were unable to conduct a meaningful analysis of the effect of gender.
The current experiment involved 220 undergraduate students aged 17 to 25 (76% female, 23% male, and 1% other) and was published in a journal. Psychology of popular media, sought to expand the pilot study and address gender limitations. To be eligible, participants had to use social media regularly (using a smartphone for at least 2 hours per day) and exhibit symptoms of depression or anxiety.
During the first week of the experiment, all participants were instructed to use social media as usual. Social media use was measured using a screen time tracking program in which participants provided daily screenshots. After the first week, half of the participants were instructed to reduce their social media use to no more than 60 minutes per day. At the beginning of the experiment, participants made a series of statements about their overall appearance (e.g., “I’m pretty satisfied with the way I look”) and weight (e.g., “I’m satisfied with my weight”). also reacted. On a 5-point scale, 1 indicates “never” and 5 indicates “always.” Participants completed a similar questionnaire at the end of the experiment.
Over the next three weeks, participants who were instructed to limit their social media use decreased their social media use by approximately 50% compared to the control group, who averaged 188 minutes per day. The average time was 78 minutes.
Participants who reduced their social media use significantly improved their views on both their overall appearance and weight after the three-week intervention, compared to a control group who saw no significant changes. No differences in effectiveness were seen by gender.
“A short-term, four-week intervention using a screen time tracker showed that reducing social media use significantly improved appearance and weight self-esteem in troubled youth who frequently used social media. ,” Goldfield said. “Reducing social media use is a viable way to have short-term positive effects on body image in vulnerable user populations and should be evaluated as a potential component in the treatment of body image-related disorders.” It is.”
Although the current study was conducted as a proof of concept, Goldfield et al. now want to see whether reductions in social media usage can be maintained over time and whether those reductions have even greater psychological effects. A larger study is currently underway. .
article: “Reducing social media use improves appearance and weight self-esteem in mentally distressed youth” by Helen Tye, BA, McGill University. Dr. Christopher Davis, Warda Mahboub, MA, Sabrina Perry, BA, Alex Adams, Carleton University. and Dr. Gary Goldfield of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Psychology of popular mediapublished online on February 23, 2023.
Dr. Gary Goldfield, You can contact us by email.