Doctors might soon prescribe therapies to patients struggling with mental issues more quickly. As a new study shows, it might be as easy as asking them to take a break from social media. The study indicates that staying away from social media could help ensure their well-being and also lower their levels of depression and anxiety.
Dr. Jeff Lambert expressed his views through a university release outlining that scrolling social media was becoming rather ubiquitous to most people. He says that social media has grown massively, but they can’t overlook the setbacks. Dr. Jeff admits that the mental health effects are adverse, and change is imminent.
Lambert reveals the study’s objective outlining that they wanted to determine whether a break could yield positive outcomes. They hoped that asking the participants to take a break spanning one week would change matters for them. In addition, he hoped for a significant change in their mental health. In other words, the study discussed the mental health benefits of taking a break.
The researchers wanted all the study’s participants to stay away from social media, but most participants found it somewhat challenging. The no-social media group spent about 3 minutes a day scrolling the various social media pages. However, the study showed a significant discrepancy, considering that the peers in the control group stayed for up to seven hours throughout the study time.
The researchers closely compared the mental health scores they collected at the start of the study, and the inferences seemed impressive. They concluded that restraining from social media over a week could result in significant improvements in each participant’s well-being.
The team still has a long way to go. It intends to expand the project to find out the impact of detoxing from social media for a longer. They hope to witness whether or not such a move would impact long-term mental health scores.
Splitting the participants into two groups was necessary. One group used the platforms normally, whereas the other restrained from social media for a week.