Studying Our Struggles with Social Media Detox
Researchers are taking social media addiction seriously, and studying techniques to help us overcome withdrawal so we can take back control of our lives
Hiya!
Spurred by curiosity and imagination, our compulsive need to create, improve, advance, and push our skills and ideas to the brink is arguably one of humankind’s best and worst attributes. As such, the things we create using our innovation result in some of the most incredible and terrifying outcomes — sometimes both in the same invention.
Take social media, for example. Although it has only existed for a few decades, social media has transformed our global society. The invention remade how we think of and form relationships by opening instant communication pathways across vast distances. Our connections with others are no longer limited to only those within our physical radius, such as neighbors, coworkers, or schoolmates.
However, social media can also distract us from real life and negatively impact our mental health. Its addictive nature makes it challenging to limit our use and can lead to feeling drained or pressured to be constantly “on.” Add in all the culture wars in society and growing levels of disinformation today, and many people are starting to reconsider their social media habits. And researchers are studying all of it.
Our Addiction to Social Media
It’s well documented that social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged and scrolling with addictive features. However, they can also influence our decision-making, and there’s always a chance of getting caught in an echo chamber or other potential dangers.
Yet, as with many things, knowing something isn’t good for us isn’t always a strong enough reason to discontinue it. We still eat and drink what we shouldn’t, stay up later than we should, and we still spend hours a day scrolling on social media.
Research shows that American adults spend over two hours a day on social media, while teens spend twice as long.
Still, whether the increase in publicity or making the connection between social media and how they feel, a growing number of people are searching for ways to break free of social media. Recent polls found that over 70 percent of American adults are concerned about how technology affects their relationships and mental health. Yet, research suggests that the same percentage spend time on Facebook (specifically) every day.
But quitting social media is often easier said than done. As I mentioned, social media can be addictive, and I don’t mean that metaphorically.
Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist who specializes in addiction medicine, is also the chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic and author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, explained to Vittoria Traverso of National Geographic that people can become addicted to digital media similarly to how they can get addicted to drugs.
Addiction is less about the vice and more about the dopamine rush we get from it. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone that makes us feel good — and every like, comment, funny meme, or cute animal video on social media triggers a surge of it. Since we like feeling good, we want to maintain high dopamine levels and will return to the source that provides it.
There’s a problem with this behavior, though.
The brain isn’t designed to sustain high levels of dopamine. Instead, it regulates dopamine to maintain a balance. Lembke says that endlessly scrolling or chasing the dopamine rush disrupts this balance, and as a result, the brain decreases its dopamine production to compensate.
Over time, this can result in what’s known as a “dopamine deficiency,” meaning we have to spend more time online to get back to feeling “normal.” Sort of like how you may feel buzzed or drunk after one or two alcoholic drinks if you’re not a regular drinker. But make it a habit, and eventually, you build a tolerance, so you have to drink more alcohol to feel the same effects one or two drinks used to achieve.
The good news is that Lembke says breaking the social-media-induced dopamine cycle and resetting our reward pathways is as simple as taking a break from social media.
The bad news is that “simple” doesn’t always mean “easy,” and addiction in any form is a worthy adversary that’s typically anything but easy to defeat.
This means detoxing from social media may be more challenging than just putting your phone in a drawer for a week and going about your life. Similarly, what works for someone else may not work for you, and vice versa.
How to Detox from Social Media
Each of us is a unique individual with our own needs, desires, and circumstances. That means there is no single approach or method for detoxing from social media that guarantees success. However, researchers have identified some guidelines that may help.
Epidemiologist IV in the Department of Public Health Sciences and co-author of a study that I’ll tell you about soon, Paige Coyne, explained to Traverso that,
“Excessive social media use can mean different things to different people. Some people may want to give it up entirely while others may want to cut down time spent on social media by half.”
So, to set yourself up for success, it’s a good idea to determine how much time you spend scrolling and how much time you’d like to scroll on the scale between a total social media blackout and overly consuming it.
For instance, if you spend hours scrolling, it may be more realistic to set limits or reduce your usage instead of quitting cold turkey. Another helpful tip is to turn off all social media notifications so they don’t taunt you.
Lembke recommends detoxing for at least four weeks to allow your brain to rewire its reward pathways. But if the idea of spending a month away from social media sends you into panic mode, she suggests going as long as possible within that time frame.
And don’t worry. Research suggests short breaks are still beneficial, so there’s no need to stress if you can’t last the full four weeks at first. A study from 2022, for example, involving 65 girls between 10 and 19 years old, found that a three-day break was all it took to improve the participants’ self-compassion and self-esteem and decrease their body shame.
And, as with any addiction, how long you can last without social media largely depends on how you handle the symptoms of withdrawal and the guardrails you create to maintain your goal.