You've probably met or heard of people who claim to feel better after they stopped using social media platforms. But is this true?
A recent study seems to prove just that! Participants were asked to abstain from social media, especially Facebook, for a month. They were also asked to record their moods and send the results via text message to the researchers, who also verified that the users were actually keeping their accounts inactive
It was found that those who abstained from Facebookfound more time to do many things, such as meeting friends and family or watching TV. They did not use their free time to visit another social media platform.
Although they didn't spend much time reading or watching the news, people who weren't logged into Facebook were found to be less politically polarized.
Another surprising aspect of the study was that after abstaining from Facebook for a month, they willingly chose to spend less time on Facebook, even after the study ended.
Since we have a very vague idea of what our online habits can cause in our minds and behavior, this study provides us with some useful information about the possible effects.
