Updated: Nov 11, 2018, 05:09 PM ISTNew US research has found that reducing time spent on Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram may help improve well-being.
Carried out by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the new study recruited 143 students at the university and asked them to complete experiments designed around Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, the three Social Media sites most popular with undergraduate students.
In addition, both groups showed significant decreases in anxiety and fear of missing out, which the researchers say could be due to the participants' increased level of self-monitoring.
"Here's the bottom line," says co-author Melissa G. Hunt, "Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness.
Hunt noted that the findings do not mean that 18 to 22 year-olds should stop using social media altogether, which she believes is an unrealistic goal.
"When you're not busy getting sucked into clickbait social media, you're actually spending more time on things that are more likely to make you feel better about your life," says Hunt.
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