In today's digital world, social media has become a central part of our daily lives, offering both benefits and challenges. Social media refers to digital platforms and applications that enable users to create, share, and interact with content and connect with others online. These platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or X, allow users to create, share, and engage with content while connecting with others worldwide. Through instant communication, social media facilitates the exchange of ideas and provides a steady flow of news and entertainment.
When used thoughtfully, social media can positively impact mental health, particularly for individuals experiencing isolation, social anxiety, depression, or loneliness. It can offer a sense of community, emotional support, and online companionship, supporting healthy socialization and psychological development.
However, excessive or unbalanced social media use can lead to significant mental health issues. Research increasingly associates the misuse of popular social media platforms with elevated levels of anxiety, stress, depression, and lower self-esteem. Additional consequences may include sleep disturbances, body image issues, eating disorders, and even, in extreme cases, radicalization and suicidal thoughts. In response to these concerns, some countries, like Australia, have implemented policies to ban social media access for individuals under 16, citing the negative impact on mental health. An increasing number of European countries, such as France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, and the United Kingdom, have also started planning or implementing restrictions on social media usage.
Understanding both the potential benefits and risks of social media can empower individuals to make informed decisions and develop healthier usage habits that protect their well-being.
The 6 Stages of Change model by Prochaska and DiClemente (1983) is widely used in addiction recovery and behavior change, offering a valuable framework for assessing your relationship with social media. This model includes the following stages to guide you through steps to quit or develop a healthier approach based on your personal goals
Whether you aim to reduce screen time, cultivate mindful use, or quit entirely, each stage in the model provides direction for change.
Characteristics: At this stage, you may not yet consider your social media use as problematic, even if it is affecting your mental health, relationships, or daily responsibilities. You might not recognize its negative impact or may feel that reducing usage isn’t necessary.
Steps to Take:
Learn about the effects of social media on mental health and look for signs of overuse, such as compulsive checking, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), or feeling emotionally affected by likes and comments. Identifying these patterns can help you see how social media might be impacting you.
At this stage, it can be helpful to watch documentaries that offer a deeper understanding of how excessive or unhealthy use of social media can affect both physical and emotional health. Here are a few recommendations:
Evaluating your habits can be the first step towards healthier social media use. Using social media for over three hours a day is often considered “heavy use” and may indicate potential issues with social media habits. The following six questions, adapted from the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale by Andreassen et al. (2012), can help you assess if your social media usage might be excessive.
For each question, select one of the following responses: (1) Very rarely, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, or (5) Very often.
A score of “Often” or “Very often” on at least four of six items may suggest that you have developed an addiction to social media.
Take time to think about how you feel after using social media. Are you more anxious, tired, or distracted? Reflect on whether social media use affects your mood, sleep, or productivity. Write down any specific instances where social media impacted your day-to-day well-being to start building a clearer picture.
Characteristics: At this stage, you’re becoming aware of the potential negative impact of social media and are starting to consider making changes, although you haven’t yet committed to taking action. This is the moment to reflect on your social media habits and clarify your objectives. Are you looking to reduce screen time, use social media more mindfully, or perhaps eliminate certain platforms entirely? Defining your goals will help guide you toward informed decisions and set realistic expectations for change.
Steps to Take:
Think about how reducing social media use could improve your life—whether it’s gaining more free time, enhancing your focus, or boosting your self-esteem. This reflection can help you stay motivated as you move toward making changes.
Establish realistic and achievable goals for yourself. For example, you could aim to reduce time spent on social media by an hour each day or limit the number of times you check your feed. Starting with small, incremental goals can make the process feel more manageable.
Recognize potential challenges that may make it harder to reduce your social media use. These could include habit, boredom, or social pressure. Understanding these obstacles will help you develop strategies to overcome them.
At this stage, consider using traditional paper-based tools such as notebooks, lists, or calendars to reflect on your social media usage, set goals, and identify barriers and facilitators. Writing by hand creates a distance from your smartphone and social media, encouraging a more focused and intentional approach to the process.
Alternatively, digital apps can also assist during this stage. The main advantages of using apps can include:
Examples of apps to consider are Journey and Reflectly. Using these tools can help you assess your current habits and set a clear path toward healthier social media use.
Characteristics: If you’ve reached this stage, you’re ready to take action. You’ve recognized the need for change and are now prepared to create a specific plan to limit your social media use or quit it entirely. This is the time to gather the tools, resources, and strategies that will bring your goals to life. Whether your aim is to reduce screen time, set boundaries, or quit certain platforms, a clear and realistic plan is essential for success. Setting small, achievable goals at this stage can build momentum and lead to lasting change.
Steps to Take:
Identify specific actions to reach your goals, such as setting time limits or designating “no social media” periods throughout the day. Use the SMART framework to make your goals more actionable:
Track your social media usage regularly to check your current usage and adjust your habits as needed. Use built-in smartphone features or external apps to monitor your screen time:
Reducing or quitting social media can initially lead to stress and anxiety. Integrating relaxation, meditation, or mindfulness practices into your routine will prepare you for the action stage. Techniques like deep breathing, guided meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation can help manage anxiety if it arises, reducing the urge to return to social media as a coping mechanism.
Apps like Relax VR, Insight Timer, Headspace and Calm offer guided mindfulness and meditation practices, helping you build the emotional resilience needed for this next phase.
Share your intentions with friends, family, or supportive online communities. Having a support system boosts motivation, accountability, and encouragement, increasing your likelihood of success.
Characteristics: At this stage, you're actively making changes to reduce or quit social media use. You've moved beyond planning and are now putting specific steps into action. This phase requires commitment, consistency, and flexibility to adjust as challenges arise. Staying focused on your objectives will help you make lasting progress toward a healthier relationship with social media.
Steps to Take:
Use tools and platform features to manage your social media time according to the goals you set in the preparation phase. Adjust your tracking and limits based on these specific objectives, whether it's reducing daily usage, avoiding certain times, or limiting activity on particular platforms. Major social media platforms offer helpful tools for this:
To further reduce social media use, consider limiting its accessibility through the following steps:
Incorporate regular breaks from social media that align with your goals. Use this time to engage in activities that don’t involve screens. Engage in hobbies, exercise, or activities like reading or journaling to fill the time and focus your energy on personal growth and well-being.
To help to manage these breaks and stay off your phone, consider using apps designed to encourage focus. Many gamified apps motivate you to stay off your phone, growing virtual trees while you refrain from social media. If you check social media, the tree stops growing, providing extra motivation to stay focused. Examples of such apps include Forest and Flora.
As you engage with social media, take time to reflect on its impact. Ask yourself the following questions to assess how it makes you feel:
To understand how social media affects your mood and reflect on its impact, consider using a paper-based journal or diary. A major advantage of paper journaling is that it is simple to pick up and put down throughout the day, making it convenient for quick reflections. Writing by hand also provides a break from screens and typing, helping you create physical and mental distance from social media.
As an alternative, you can use digital journaling apps. The main advantages of digital journaling include the ability to integrate multimedia, such as photos, audio, and other media, to enrich your entries. These apps often create automatic backups to ensure your information is secure and not lost. Additionally, digital journaling can make organizing your reflections easier through features like tags, color-coding, and search functions. Some examples of digital journaling apps include Day One, Daylio and Moodfit.
If you experience negative emotions like stress or anxiety during breaks or detox periods, remember to use the relaxation, meditation, and mindfulness techniques you learned in the preparation phase to manage these feelings.
By actively tracking your social media use, taking regular breaks, and being mindful of your emotional responses, you’ll be better equipped to maintain a healthy relationship with social media and reduce its negative impact.
For healthier social media use, consider the following steps to create a more positive and supportive online environment:
Acknowledge and celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Whether it’s successfully reducing your daily screen time, going a full day without social media, or resisting the urge to check your phone first thing in the morning, these milestones are important steps toward a healthier relationship with social media. Celebrating these achievements can:
Remember, progress is progress, no matter the size. Each step forward is a victory worth celebrating.
Characteristics: At this stage, you've successfully reduced or quit social media use, and now you’re focused on maintaining these positive changes. The goal is to continue building a healthier relationship with social media. This phase requires ongoing effort, self-awareness, and regular reflection to ensure that the new habits become sustainable over time.
Steps to Take:
Create a balanced daily routine that includes offline activities and prioritizes face-to-face interactions. Engage in hobbies, exercise, or time with loved ones, and focus on activities that nurture your mental and emotional well-being. The more fulfilling your offline life becomes, the less likely you'll feel the urge to return to old habits.
Regularly assess how your reduced social media use has positively impacted your mental health and overall well-being. Take time to celebrate milestones, such as maintaining your screen-time limits for weeks or months. Reflection allows you to see the long-term benefits and reinforces your commitment to maintaining these changes.
Be conscious of any temptations or urges to return to excessive social media use, especially during moments of boredom, stress, or habit. It’s normal to experience these urges, but having a clear plan in place to handle them is key. This might include revisiting your reasons for reducing social media use, redirecting your attention to positive activities, or using strategies like mindful breathing or physical breaks when the urge arises.
Characteristics: This stage acknowledges that setbacks or relapses are a natural part of the process for many individuals. It’s important to recognize that not everyone reaches complete termination of social media use, and that a return to old habits can be an opportunity to learn and grow. Understanding that relapses can happen helps you approach them with compassion and a plan for moving forward.
Steps to Take:
Accept that setbacks are part of the journey. If you experience a relapse, don’t view it as failure. Instead, see it as an opportunity to learn and adjust your approach. Reflect on what led to the relapse, what might have triggered it, and how you can adjust your plan to better support your goals. This might mean revisiting your motivations or refining your strategies for managing social media use.
Lean on your support system, whether that’s friends, family, or a professional, to help you regain motivation and get back on track. Share your experiences and challenges, and use their encouragement to strengthen your resolve. Having a strong support network can make it easier to navigate setbacks and maintain your commitment to healthier social media habits.
If you find yourself struggling to manage social media use or experiencing negative emotional effects, don’t hesitate to reach out for professional support. A mental health professional can help you explore underlying issues, offer strategies for coping with urges or anxiety, and guide you toward healthier habits. Seeking help is a proactive step in maintaining your mental well-being and achieving long-term success in reducing social media use.
Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1982). Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrative model of change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 19(3), 276–288. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0088437
