Restricting social networking site use for one week produces varied effects on mood but does not increase explicit or implicit desires to use SNSs: Findings from an ecological momentary assessment study

Abstract

Recent research on the addictive potential of modern technologies such as the internet, smartphones, or social networking sites (SNSs) has suggested that emotional and motivational changes associated with the sudden discontinuation of engagement with the technology mirror the aversive consequences seen when drug use is ceased abruptly. This has been observed even in moderate users and interpreted as a manifestation of withdrawal, an important marker of physical dependence in substance use disorders. On the other hand, a growing literature emphasises the positive effects of “digital detox” on mental health and well-being. Using a battery of affective and motivational measures, both explicit and implicit, the present study tracked the effects of a week of significantly reduced SNS use in moderate to heavy SNS users (N = 51). Our pre-registered analyses showed that the intervention elicited affective changes neither consistent with a general withdrawal syndrome (i.e., increased negative affect and cravings) nor with a general beneficial effect on well-being: While our data indicated some abstinence-related decreases of negative affect and boredom, they also showed a reduction of positive affect. These changes occurred regardless of problematic/addictive use behaviours. Importantly, restricting SNS use for one week had no effect on implicit measures of SNS use motivation (i.e., approach biases, time distortion and effort expenditure for SNS access) nor did it influence explicit cravings and SNS cue-reactivity. Together our findings suggest that restricting SNS use has nuanced and potentially offsetting effects on well-being. These could arise because use reduction may concurrently remove experiences that trigger negative emotions (e.g., upward social comparisons or Fear of Missing Out) but also those that elicit positive emotions (e.g., social approval). The hypothesised lack of a net effect on well-being would be consistent with our finding that voluntary reduction of SNS use does not mitigate or exacerbate SNS-related urges.