Social media detox for upward spirals of self-compassion
If you have read my previous substack, Surviving Hurrican Social Media, then you know that teens watch their screens (mostly YouTube and TikTok), on average, 8 hours and 39 minutes per day, and teen girls, on average, spend around 2 hours and 15 minutes per day on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.1 You would also know that one of the not-so-good influences of social media is it can contribute to self-image issues in teens, i.e., body disturbance issues, and that more social media use, such as posting, liking, and commenting on photos, has been linked to more eating disorders, self-objectification, and internalized body shame in teens.
Why is this such an important topic?
Teen depression, disordered eating (such as Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), and negative body image have spiked in recent years. Today, 3-10% of females (15-29 years) meet the diagnostic criteria for disordered eating.
Recent research out of the University of Colorado suggests that taking a 3-day social media fast may help reduce self-objectification among teens.2 A study in Body Image, an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes scientific articles on body image and human physical appearance, explored the link between social media fasting and body objectification. The research examined teens’ mental health outcomes from taking a 3-day break from social media. Researchers worked with a group of 65 self-identified girls from 10–19 years old recruited from dance schools and studios.3 Since dancing is an appearance-focused activity and many dancers use social media to gain exposure and a following, the researchers felt they were a relevant group to look at around body image issues.
To backtrack, let’s briefly review the developmental theory of embodiment, which adds some context to this study:
As girls mature from childhood to adolescence, they can move from subjectivity of their body to objectivity to meet cultural beauty standards. This is the time in their life when girls begin to internalize the external gaze of society’s standards of attractiveness and fit their bodies to those standards by engaging in self-objectification.4
The theory of objectification proposes:
The pervasive cultural focus on attractive physical appearance as girls’ and women’s primary value, along with sexualized interpersonal treatment by others, coaxes them to internalize an observer’s perspective on their bodies, to self-objectify, as a way of anticipating their treatment in the world.5
Being embodied is awesome and what we want, but it stands in stark contrast to self-objectification, which removes us from our bodies and makes us critical observers - leaving us empty. Within this context, the study was conducted.
The participants in the research study took a three-day break (or fast) from all social media. They deleted their apps but were allowed to participate in daily check-ins via WhatsApp. The thought behind this is that cutting oneself off from all social interaction and peer communication would probably make you feel worse, so they were allowed to communicate with one another.
After the fast, researchers found the following:
25 % felt a heightened connection (For instance, one participant said, “I went out for lunch with my friends today. We actually talked and didn’t go on our phones.”)
25% exhibited more self-care behaviors, such as walking or napping.
59% felt “time displacement,” meaning they did other activities they did not usually do because they were on social media, such as sports, baking, or studying.
29% felt “more present”
43% felt “less anxious” (For instance, one teen said, “I feel generally taking a break from social media is making me feel a lot calmer and more centered… it also creates a kind of space in my mind, sort of like when you meditate, that just makes me feel a lot lighter and more focused, less cluttered and busy. You know?”)
There were some downsides as well. 15% felt like they were “missing out” or that there was “nothing to do.”
Overall, the results showed an increased amount of self-compassion.6 Self-compassion helps one appreciate one’s body “as is”. The positive mental states during the fast seemed to increase the participants’ feelings of embodiment by giving them the space for self-acceptance and time to understand themselves without the bombardment of social media. Researchers called this experiment in social media fasting “a catalyst for so-called ‘upward spirals’ of well-being” and I have to agree.
In conclusion, taking a brief break from social media (3 days or more) without cutting yourself off from your friends or communication (or your feelings), seems to be an effective way to take care of yourself and your mental health. I encourage you to find a 3-day window and unplug from your social media. If you do, please tell me how it went. How did you feel? Let me know in the comments!
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Rideout, V., & Robb, M. B. (2021). The Common Sense Census: Media use by tweens and teens. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense Media.
Tomi-Ann Roberts, Elizabeth A. Daniels, Jason M. Weaver, Leslie Scott Zanovitch, “Intermission!” A short-term social media fast reduces self-objectification among pre-teen and teen dancers, Body Image, Volume 43, 2022, Pages 125-133.
The sample included 51 Caucasian/European-American girls (80%), 9 Latinx/Hispanic girls (14%), and 5 Asian-American girls (7%).
Tylka, Tracy L., Niva Piran, and Niva Piran, 'The Experience of Embodiment Construct: Reflecting the Quality of Embodied Lives', in Tracy L. Tylka (ed.), Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment: Constructs, Protective Factors, and Interventions, New York, 2019.
Fredrickson, B., & Roberts, T.-A. (1997). Objectification theory: Toward understanding women’s lived experiences and mental health risks. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21(2), 173–206.
The research also showed increased self-esteem, which we know protects us against self-objectification. However, they felt the findings were inconclusive because self-esteem was also taught in some dance workshops. Therefore, further research would need to be done to understand better whether fasting from social media had anything to do with increasing self-esteem.