Reduce your social media use and be mindful for a better mental health: An experimental intervention study from Germany

Prolonged time spent on social media use (SMU) can negatively impact mental health. The present experimental and longitudinal study (randomized controlled trial design, RCT) on social media (SM) users in Germany ( N total = 443) investigated how to reduce this negative effect. For 14 days, the SM group ( N = 124) reduced its daily SMU by 30 minutes, the mindfulness group ( N = 100) engaged daily in mindfulness exercises, the combination group ( N = 115) followed both interventions, and the control group ( N = 104) did not change its behavior. Online surveys assessed SMU-related variables and mental health-related variables at six measurement time points (baseline, intermediate, post-intervention, 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, 6-month follow-up). The three experimental conditions resulted in a significant decrease of fear of missing out (FoMO), SM flow, addictive SMU, and stress symptoms. The reduction of SMU time and its combination with mindfulness exercises contributed to a decrease of depressive symptoms and an increase of life satisfaction and positive mental health. Many of the positive effects were stronger in the long-term than in the short-term. Moreover, for most investigated variables, the positive effects were stronger in the combination group than in the single condition groups, especially in the long-term. The present findings reveal that a combination of a conscious and controlled reduction of daily SMU time and the engagement in mindfulness exercises could serve as a time- and cost-efficient low-threshold intervention in public mental health programs and therapeutic context.