The majority of studies observed beneficial effects of restricted social media use on measures of subjective well-being—but few found advantage in being disconnected from their environment

The Effects of Restricting Social Media Use on Subjective Well-Being – A Systematic Review. Richard Eriksen. Thesis, Bergen Univ, Jan 2020. https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2724018/Hovedoppgave_RE.pdf?sequence=1

Abstract: During the last decade, social media usage has increased dramatically, cultivating a significant change in the way people communicate, socialize, and consume information. In turn, this shift in cultural and behavioral change has given rise to concerns about the potential impact on mental health and well-being. The findings from a range of correlational studies suggest an association between increased social media usage and reduced subjective wellbeing, although the causality of this relationship is not fully understood. Recent studies have attempted to clarify the causality of this association by employing experimental restrictions on social media or smartphone use. The current review summarizes findings from these experiments, highlighting the effects of abstinence and moderation on subjective well-being and the interaction of proposed mediating and moderating factors such as social connection, withdrawal, gender, and baseline use of social media. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines; the primary search was performed during October 2020 using the APA PsycInfo, Embase, Medline (Ovid), and Web of Science databases, identifying a total of 19 experimental studies that met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the review found that the majority of studies observed beneficial effects of restricted social media use on measures of subjective well-being—notably, these benefits were most pronounced through an approach of moderated use rather than complete abstinence. Restrictions seem to have stronger effects for heavy social media users than for light or casual users. The results are discussed in terms of limitations and implications for further research.