Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 21, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Abstinence from social media use, subjective well-being, stress, and loneliness
Zahir Vally1, Caroline G D'Souza1
1Department of Psychology and Counseling, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Purpose:
Studies with experimental designs in which the association between participants' subjective well-being and their use of social media is studied remain rare. This study tested the effect of abstaining from social media use on participants' well-being, affect, perceived stress, and sense of perceived loneliness.
Design And Methods:
Randomized, controlled design. Sixty-eight participants were randomized to one of two conditions.
Findings:
Those who abstained from social media use, compared with those in the control group, evidenced a decline in life satisfaction, an increase in negative affect, and an increase in loneliness.
Practice Implications:
Excessive social media use poses deleterious consequences for users, but abstinence may not necessarily exact positive changes; this outcome is dependent on the functions for which social media are used.
Related Concept Videos
Social Scripts
Social Proof
Social Traps
Social Facilitation
Social Exchange Theory
Social Loafing

