How Does Cutting Social Media Affect Distressed Youth?

Anna Lembke says emotionally distressed youth who cut social media to no more than one hour a day show decreases in depression and anxiety, improvements in sleep, and less loneliness and fear of missing out.

A growing body of evidence objectively measures use, tracking what youth are doing, and compares a group limited to one hour a day with a control group whose social media consumption stays the same. In the limited group, depression decreases, anxiety decreases, sleep improves, and loneliness and fear of missing out improve. Sleep mediates a lot of the emotional distress.

The technology is not going away, so a healthier relationship with the technology has to be established. Parents cannot manage the problem alone. Schools have to come on board.