Reducing Social Media Use To 1 Hour A Day Makes Young People Feel Better About Themselves, Shows Study

Filipinos aged 16-64 spend an average of 10 hours and 27 minutes hooked on the internet, making the Philippines top two (second only to South Africa) in terms of internet usage across the globe, according to Inquirer.Net.

The number is based on the Digital 2022 report of social media management firm Hootsuite and creative agency We Are Social.  Of that number, 4 hours and 6 minutes are spent using social media, also making the Philippines the second most active country on social media. Similarly, in the United States, teens are reported to spend more than eight hours a day on social media. 

Given these numbers, parents--especially for those of the Gen Z and Alpha generations—find it a challenge to limit their children’s screen time. An article in NPR about the new study conducted by the American Psychological  Association, however, validates that reducing social media time can help young people feel better about themselves. The study, authored by Helen Thai, shows that “limiting screen time to about one hour a day helped anxious teens and young adults feel better about their body image and their appearance.” 

 

Thai herself noticed that when she used social media, she couldn’t help but compare herself to what she sees on screen especially those posted by celebrities and influencers. It doesn’t help that these ‘influencers’ “feature polished, airbrushed or filtered images that can alter appearances in an unrealistic way…”  she says. Together with her team, Thai did a research to find out whether cutting social media time specifically on Instagram, TitTok, and Snapchat can improve body image. The study was conducted on a ‘few hundred’ volunteers ages 17-25  ‘all of whom had experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression—which could make them vulnerable to the effects of social media.’

Half of the participants were asked to reduce their social media use to 60 minutes a day for three weeks while the other half continued to use social media with no restrictions, which averaged about three hours per day. At the beginning and end of the study, the participants were surveyed to know whether they were ‘happy about the way they looked’ and if they were ‘satisfied with their weight.’ From a 5-point scale, the overall score on appearance improved from 2.95 to 3.15. “This may seem like a small change, but any shift in such a short period of time is striking,” says the authors of the study.

Given that digital media is here to stay, Thai pointed out that it is important to learn how to adapt in such a way that it doesn’t negatively impact or control us. 

Here, NPR provides some ideas on how to limit social media usage: 

5 ways teens can reduce social media use

1. Curate your social media feed.

Unfollow content that make you ‘feel bad.’ Lexie Kite, co-author of  More Than a Body: Your Body is an Instrument, Not an Ornament warns that the algorithms of social media platforms can “amplify harmful cultural messages” that target women and girls such as messages that place value on beauty and sex appeal. Users have full control of their feeds and have the power to push back and Kite’s advice is to "be incredibly mindful, as you scroll, of how each creator, each image, each account makes you feel." It is best to unfollow or mute content that makes users uncomfortable, feel bad, or ‘less-than’. 

RELATED: ‘Limit SocMed Access’ At Iba Pang Paraan Ng Mga Nanay Para sa Healthy Body Image Ng Anak

2. Take a break from technology.

There’s power in unplugging one day a week, NPR quotes artist and film-maker Tiffany Shlain who turns off her device every Friday evening and takes a 24-hour break from technology.  The practice applies to her children as well and they have been doing it for 13 years now.  When she takes what she refers to as a “Tech Shabbat,” she feels most connected to her family, she says. "There's something about that full day off each week that really resets me and each member of my family in a deep way."

3. Set limits on social media use.

Turning off notifications is a start so they don't show up on your home screen. You can set limits to your social media use by tracking usage time on your phone.  Smartphones allow users to do this by breaking down the amount of time spent on each social media app, website, as well as let them know how often they pick up their device.  It all comes down to “goal setting, and then tracking your behavior to help keep yourself accountable,” according to Thai.

4. Invest in real-life activities.

Redirect the time you use online in hobbies that you have little time to do. Engage in self-care, and physical and social activities to enrich your life. Instead of checking your social media feed to find out what’s happening in your friends’ life make some plans to connect with them in real life,” advises Thai.

5. Follow people that share your interests and values.

Filter out content creators that make you feel bad and instead follow those who are interesting, send positive messages, and do remarkable things. Kite says she curated her feed to blend humor and advocacy and connect with those who “are making fun of the sexist, objectifying media landscape we all live in," because it makes social media more fun to use.