Can spending less time on social media help young people feel less lonely?
Yes. In this randomized controlled trial, youth with anxiety or depression who cut their social media use to one hour a day felt significantly less lonely than those who kept scrolling as usual. The benefit showed up after just three weeks.
Loneliness hits especially hard in young people who are already struggling with anxiety or depression. Social media was built to bring people together, yet study after study has linked heavy use to more loneliness, not less. The tricky part is that most of those studies only show a connection, not a cause. This trial set out to test the question directly: if you simply use social media less, do you actually feel better?
What the data show
Researchers started with 260 young people who already had symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both. Everyone first filled out a survey and sent in daily screenshots of their social media time for one week. Then participants were split at random into two groups. One group was asked to limit social media to one hour per day for the next three weeks. The other group kept using it however they liked. In the end, 219 young people finished the study and were included in the results.
The group that cut back came out ahead. Their loneliness dropped significantly more than the group with no limits, a difference that was statistically meaningful rather than down to chance. The effect was modest in size, but it was real and it pointed in a clear direction: less time on social media, less loneliness.
Dr. Kumar’s Take
What I find compelling here is that this is an experiment, not just another survey. We have known for years that heavy social media use travels alongside loneliness in young people, but correlation never told us which way the arrow points. By randomly assigning who cut back, this trial gives us a stronger reason to believe that the scrolling itself is part of the problem. I also like that the change asked of participants was realistic. Nobody had to quit cold turkey. One hour a day is a target most teens could actually hit. That said, three weeks is short, the effect was on the smaller side, and asking people to limit use is not the same as making them. I would want to see longer studies before calling this a cure for loneliness. Still, as one piece of a broader plan, this is encouraging.
Who benefits, and why it surprised the researchers
One of the most interesting findings was about who the help reached. Going in, many experts expected girls to benefit more, since girls tend to be hit harder by the downsides of social media. Others expected the biggest gains in young people who constantly compare themselves to others online, since that comparison is often blamed for the harm. Neither guess held up.
The drop in loneliness was just as strong for boys as for girls. It was also just as strong for those who rarely compared themselves to others as for those who did so constantly. In plain terms, you did not have to be a heavy comparer to benefit. That points to a simple but important idea: the loneliness eased because of cutting back on use itself, not because anyone stopped measuring their life against everyone else’s highlight reel.
Safety, limits, and caveats
This was a well-designed trial, but it has honest limits worth keeping in mind. Three weeks is a brief window, so we cannot say whether the benefit lasts for months or fades once normal habits return. About 40 of the original participants did not finish, which can shift results in ways that are hard to predict. The reduction in loneliness, while real, was small, so this is best seen as one helpful tool rather than a complete fix. And because the study focused on youth who already had anxiety or depression, the findings may not apply the same way to everyone.
Practical Takeaways
- If you or your teen struggles with loneliness alongside anxiety or depression, try setting a daily social media limit of about one hour using your phone’s built-in screen time tools.
- Aim for a realistic cutback rather than quitting entirely, since this study showed a benefit from reducing use, not from going cold turkey.
- Do not wait to feel like a heavy “comparer” before making a change, because the benefit showed up regardless of how much people compared themselves to others online.
- Treat reduced social media as one part of a broader plan that may also include therapy, in-person connection, and medical care, not a standalone treatment.
Related Studies and Research
- Antidepressant efficacy of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga compared with ECT and imipramine
- Theta burst vs high-frequency rTMS: the THREE-D trial results
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression in students: dose, inflammation, and BDNF
- Mindfulness meditation for chronic insomnia: randomized controlled trial results
FAQs
How much should a teenager cut back on social media to feel less lonely?
In this trial, participants aimed for a limit of one hour per day, down from their usual habits. That target was chosen because it is meaningful but still achievable for most young people. The key was a real reduction, not perfection, so even getting close to that goal may help. If one hour feels too steep at first, a gradual step down toward it is a reasonable place to start.
Does cutting back on social media help boys as much as girls?
Yes. The reduction in loneliness was just as strong for boys as for girls in this study. This surprised some researchers, since girls are often thought to be more affected by social media’s downsides. The takeaway is that limiting use seems worth trying for any young person dealing with loneliness, regardless of gender, rather than something aimed only at one group.
Is social media comparison the main reason it causes loneliness?
This study suggests comparison may not be the whole story. The benefit of cutting back was the same whether or not a person tended to compare themselves to others online. That points to the amount of use itself, not just comparison, as a driver of loneliness. It is a useful reminder that simply spending less time on these platforms may matter more than how you use them.
Bottom Line
Among young people already facing anxiety or depression, limiting social media to one hour a day led to a measurable drop in loneliness over three weeks, and the benefit reached boys and girls alike, no matter how much they compared themselves to others. The effect was modest and the study was short, so this is best viewed as one practical tool within a fuller approach to mental health. Even so, it offers something rare in this area: experimental evidence that cutting back, not just using social media differently, can help young people feel a little less alone.
