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Taking a Break From Social Media: Does It Lift Your Mood?

By Weight Wire Editorial Team October 17, 2026 2 min read
A woman sitting cross-legged on a rug with her eyes closed and a calm smile, sunlight from a garden window, her phone resting face-down on a wooden table nearby

Many of us feel a little worse after scrolling for too long, and many of us do it anyway. A fair question is whether stepping away actually helps your mood, or whether the feeling is just a story we tell ourselves. One well-known experiment looked at exactly that. This is general education, not medical advice.

A large experiment

Economists Hunt Allcott, Luca Braghieri, Sarah Eichmeyer and Matthew Gentzkow recruited a large group of American Facebook users (the published paper reports 2,743) and asked some to deactivate their accounts for four weeks before the 2018 midterm elections. Others kept using Facebook as normal. The results appeared in the American Economic Review in 2020.

  • People who deactivated spent less time online and more time on offline activities, such as seeing friends and family.
  • They knew less about the news but were somewhat less politically polarized.
  • Their self-reported happiness and life satisfaction rose, and their anxiety fell, by small but statistically significant amounts.
  • After the experiment, they used Facebook less than before.

Reading the result fairly

  • The effects were small. This was a modest lift, not a transformation.
  • Mood was self-reported, so it reflects how people said they felt.
  • It studied one platform during one election season, in the United States.
  • People also lost something. Staying informed and connected has real value, which is why the aim is a better balance rather than a ban.

Gentle ways to try a break

  • Start small. Try one evening or one weekend away from the app and notice how you feel.
  • Change the setup. Mute accounts that leave you feeling worse, turn off non-essential notifications and move the app off your home screen.
  • Replace the habit. A short walk, a call to a friend or a few minutes of breathing practice can fill the gap.
  • Be curious, not harsh. If you slip, our guide to being kind to yourself after a slip applies here too.

If scrolling is tied to low mood or anxiety that does not lift, a licensed professional can help.

Sources

  • Allcott H, Braghieri L, Eichmeyer S, Gentzkow M. The welfare effects of social media. American Economic Review, 2020;110(3):629-676.
If you are struggling. This article is educational and is not a substitute for care from a licensed mental health professional. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 in the U.S. (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), or contact your local emergency number.
Not medical advice. This article is for education only. Review any weight loss, health, diet, fitness or medication decision with your doctor or primary care physician first. Medical disclaimer.

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Weight Wire Editorial Team

Writer at Weight Wire.

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