Effects of Reducing Social Media Use in Women With Depressive Symptoms

With the advent of social media (SM) use, recent research has sought to examine how this use may be associated with clinical symptoms such as depression, leading to research examining the potential causal role of SM use in these symptoms. While some studies have found that SM use may modestly contribute to depression, none of these studies have examined the potential effect of this behavior in individuals with elevated levels of depression, nor has prior research addressed potential demand effects associated with SM manipulations. The aim of this study was to experimentally examine the effects of reducing SM use on depression, loneliness, social anxiety, and appearance concerns among a sample of women with elevations in depressive symptoms. Sixty-four women were randomized to either a 2-week text message-based SM reduction condition (n = 31) or a no-instruction control condition (n = 33). We found that reductions in SM use did not lead to reductions in depression, social anxiety, or loneliness at postmanipulation. However, among those with elevated appearance concerns at baseline, SM reduction led to lower appearance concerns at postmanipulation and follow-up compared with control. SM fading also led to lower levels of loneliness at follow-up. Overall, this study provides novel evidence for the role of SM use specifically in women with depressive symptoms.