Taking abreak from social mediamay come with real benefits, according to a major new study.Researchers atStanford Universityasked about 36,000Facebook and Instagram usersto log off in the weeks leading up to the 2020 US presidential election, and the results showed that their emotional well-being improved.
The participants — all of whom were active on the apps for at least 15 minutes a day — were split into two groups.
About 27% were paid todeactivate their accountsfor six weeks, while the rest served as a control group and only logged off for one week.
The results showed a clear lift for Facebook users who stayed off the platform for longer.
Their emotional well-being significantly improved compared to the control group.
Instagram users also saw a bump, but smaller.
Their emotional state rose very slightly, though that result did not hold up under stricter statistical tests.
Facebook’s biggest gains showed up among users over 35, undecided voters and those without college degrees.
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For Instagram, the strongest improvements were seen among women ages 18 to 24.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
