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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 May 30:13:1548504.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1548504. eCollection 2025.

Causal effects of social media use on self-esteem, mindfulness, sleep and emotional well-being: a social media restriction study

Matthias Maerevoet #  1 , Marlies Van de Casteele #  2 , Eowyn Van de Putte  1 , Dries Debeer  3 , Kristof Hoorelbeke  1 , Maarten Vansteenkiste  2 , Ernst H W Koster  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Causal effects of social media use on self-esteem, mindfulness, sleep and emotional well-being: a social media restriction study

Matthias Maerevoet et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: The question whether social media use (SMU) has a causal influence on mental health sparks a lot of interest. Empirical research to date shows no consensus on the causal effects of SMU on mental well-being. Therefore, the present study assessed if experimentally implemented restrictions in SMU led to improvements in well-being outcomes using a combination of self-report and passive sensing data.

Methods: After a 2 week baseline phase, participants (M age = 21.42 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental (N = 35) or a passive control (N = 32) condition. Participants in the experimental condition were asked to limit their SMU to a maximum of 30 min (divided across their preferred apps) per day for two consecutive weeks, while participants in the control condition were instructed to continue their SMU as usual. After the intervention phase, participants in both conditions were followed up for 2 weeks during which all restrictions were removed. During the experiment, we monitored self-esteem, mindfulness, sleep, and emotional well-being.

Results: Results indicate a main effect of time for most outcomes, but the implemented SMU restriction did not moderate these effects.

Discussion: In conclusion, this study found no benefits from a temporary social media reduction on mental health outcomes.

Keywords: emotional well-being; self-esteem; sleep; social media reduction; social media use.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Consort diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Graphical representation of study design.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Graphical representation of the self-reported outcomes over time.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Graphical representation of the objective sleep outcomes over time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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