A large Stanford University study paid roughly 36,000 Facebook and Instagram users to log off in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election and found that the people who stayed off felt measurably better.
The study split participants into groups: about 275 were paid to deactivate their accounts for six weeks, while others logged off for just one week. Both groups showed improved emotional well-being compared to those who kept scrolling, but the effect was more pronounced for Facebook users who went longer without it.
The results broke down along some interesting lines. Facebook users over 35 showed the biggest mood improvements, along with undecided voters and people without college degrees. Among Instagram users, the 18-to-24 group benefited most.
None of this is entirely shocking in the abstract since most people have a pretty good intuition that less time doomscrolling means more mental breathing room. What makes this study notable is its scale. This wasn’t a self-selected group of digital detox enthusiasts. These were ordinary users, many of whom presumably went back to their feeds afterward, and the boost showed up clearly in the data.
The comment section on ABC News’s video coverage said it more plainly: “Getting rid of my Facebook and Instagram accounts was the best thing I’ve ever done.” Another: “The worst thing about social media is that people are in it for hours and they don’t even realize it.”
The study doesn’t argue that everyone should quit. It does suggest the relationship between habitual social media use and emotional well-being is real, measurable, and probably worth paying attention to.
