A social media limit reduced loneliness in young people with distress
A brief randomized experiment found greater loneliness reductions with restricted use, while subgroup differences remained uncertain.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Assigning a daily social media limit led to a greater short-term reduction in loneliness among young people already experiencing anxiety or depressive symptoms. The result concerns loneliness during a brief experiment in this selected population. It does not establish whether the change persisted or whether anxiety and depressive symptoms improved.
Only study completers were analyzed. The abstract does not name the loneliness scale, explain the practical size of the difference, or report outcomes beyond the intervention.
What researchers found
Change in loneliness
Mixed-model group-by-time coefficient over 3 weeks: 1 h/day target versus unrestricted use; loneliness decreased significantly more with the target.
What was tested
Participants documented social media use with daily screenshots during baseline. The experiment then compared a requested daily limit with unrestricted use, testing whether assignment to the limit changed loneliness over the intervention period.
Subgroup findings remain uncertain
Neither gender nor initial social comparison levels significantly modified the intervention effect. These nonsignificant interactions leave uncertainty about subgroup differences; they do not demonstrate that every subgroup responds equally to a social media limit.
The original publication
Reducing social media use decreases loneliness regardless of gender or level of social comparisons in youth with anxiety and depression: A randomized controlled trial.
Goldfield GS, Lopes MVV, Mahboob W et al.
J Affect Disord · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41638499
- Record checked
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