Taking a break from social media for a week can improve one's mental health, a recent research has shown.

The study, published in the journal `Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking’, by researchers from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, sampled 154 people aged 18 to 72, who were randomly split into two groups.

The first group was banned from using apps like TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for seven days, while the second group used it for eight hours a week.

At the end of the study, the participants were subjected to a series of tests to gauge their baseline anxiety and depression, as well as their sense of wellbeing.

Those who stayed off social media for a week, saw their level of wellbeing climb while their levels of depression and anxiety fell.

Explaining the results, lead researcher Dr Jeff Lambert suggested that even a "small break" from social media can have an impact on one's wellbeing.

"Of course, social media is a part of life and for many people, it's an indispensable part of who they are, and how they interact with others.

"But if you are spending hours each week scrolling and you feel it is negatively impacting you, it could be worth cutting down on your usage to see if it helps," he was quoted saying by reports.

The report stressed that it is not established whether social media directly contributed to mental health problems, or exarcebated pre-existing low self-worth problems among netizens.

In the future, the researchers hope to prolong the study among people for more than a week, to see if a social media detox can have long-lasting effects. In addition, they also want to study the impact of pausing social media to treat mental health problems among younger people.

A very useful research indeed. If you have been down lately, perhaps you could try taking a break from social media for several days, to see if you can get better.


Source: dnaindia.com, independent.co.uk
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