Digital Detox and Well-Being

Sep 17, 2024Pediatrics

Taking a Break from Screens and Its Impact on Well-Being

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Abstract

A review of 139 articles found no clear definition of digital detox and inconsistent assessment of its effectiveness.

Reducing social media and smartphone use may lead to more beneficial effects on well-being compared to total abstinence.
The impact of interventions on well-being varies based on the type of outcome and the duration of the intervention.
Gender, age, and contextual factors may influence the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing social media use.
Current evidence on the effects of digital detox interventions on well-being is limited and lacks clear implications for policymaking.
More high-quality, empirical research is needed to determine when and for whom digital detox interventions could be beneficial.

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In a May 2023 advisory, the US Surgeon General raised concerns about the effects of social media use on well-being. One implied strategy to reduce its impact is abstaining from digital media use. This state-of-the-art review summarizes the most recent studies on reducing or abstaining from digital media use, including social media (ie, "digital detox") and its effect on well-being to inform parents, educators, schools, policymakers, and the public when taking action. In June 2023, we conducted a literature search in Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. We included reviews and original research articles (1) focusing on interventions to reduce screen time/social media time and (2) its impact on/association with well-being. We summarized the key points of the 2 published reviews and 6 articles (published between 2013 and 2023), including 139 articles in total. Our main findings are: there is no clear definition of digital detox and no consistency in the assessment of interventions' effectiveness;reducing social media/smartphone time rather than promoting total abstinence showed more beneficial effects on well-being;the effect of the interventions and their duration varies depending on the type of outcome; andthe effects are influenced by gender, age, and contextual factors. Available evidence on interventions aiming at reducing social media use on well-being is limited, leaving no clear implications for policymaking at this point. More empirical, high-quality research is needed to understand the circumstances under which digital detox interventions are helpful and for whom.

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