Survey: Social Media Detox Improves Mental Health
Princeton University in the United States and Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) conducted a survey examining the effects of social media on mental health. Nicholas Kuipers, a researcher from Princeton University, stated that temporary cessation of social media use improves mental health.
“Especially for those who stop using social media together with all household members,” he said in an official release on Sunday, 15 March 2026.
According to the survey findings, social media use has a negative influence on mental health. Conversely, temporarily discontinuing social media use can help restore users’ mental conditions.
The positive impact appears stronger when social media cessation is undertaken collectively by all household members. Such discontinuation improves sleep quality, reduces anxiety, and enhances overall mental wellbeing.
The research involved approximately 1,502 respondents. They completed online questionnaires twice, with a one-month interval, using a panel survey scheme to measure the effects before and after temporarily ceasing social media use.
The first survey involved 1,502 respondents conducted from 17 November to 15 December 2025. The second survey included 1,408 respondents and was conducted from 16 December 2025 to 14 January 2026.
Following the first survey, respondents were divided into three groups. The first group (T1) consisted of 399 respondents asked to deactivate social media for one month until the second survey. The second group (T2), comprising 701 respondents, was asked to do the same, but collectively with household members aged 18 and above. The control group was asked to make no changes to their social media use.
Initially, most respondents showed relatively positive emotional conditions. Approximately 83 per cent of residents demonstrated positive affect with scores above 50. Meanwhile, approximately 17 per cent had negative feelings with scores below 50.
The survey assessed emotions on a 0-100 scale, where zero signified extremely negative and 100 extremely positive. The average emotional score was recorded at 69.1, indicating fairly positive emotional conditions.
Many indicators were examined in the survey. One was the depression indicator. Approximately 93 per cent of respondents had low anxiety levels scoring 0-50, whilst approximately 7 per cent had high anxiety levels.
After one month, there were differing trends between the control group and groups asked to deactivate social media. In the control group, depression scores tended to increase from 23.8 in the first survey to 24.4 in the second. In group T1, depression scores decreased from 23.8 to 22.4. Group T2 also decreased from 22.4 to 21.7.
This change was evident in the score differential between group T1 and the control group, which shifted from +0.1 in the first survey to -2.0 in the second, a decrease of 2.1 points. Meanwhile, the differential between group T2 and the control group changed from -1.3 to -2.7, a decrease of 1.4 points.
“These findings indicate that temporary cessation of social media use tends to be associated with reduced depression levels,” the survey results stated.
Regarding the positive affect indicator, the control group’s affect score slightly declined from 69.2 in the first survey to 68.7 in the second. In group T1, scores remained relatively stable from 69.7 to 69.6. Meanwhile, group T2 actually increased from 69.0 to 70.0.
The score differential between group T1 and the control group increased from +0.5 to +0.9. The differential between group T2 and the control group increased more substantially, from -0.2 to +1.4.
According to this report, the survey results demonstrate that social media deactivation, particularly when undertaken collectively within households, tends to increase positive affect or feelings. This increase includes reduced feelings of loneliness, frustration, worry, and boredom, whilst increasing feelings of satisfaction, happiness, and tranquility.
The survey concludes that individual social media deactivation significantly impacts improved sleep quality. Conversely, social media deactivation undertaken collectively by all household members reduces anxiety levels, improves sleep quality, and enhances overall mental and emotional health.