New research has revealed that young women who took a one-week break from social media experienced a significant increase in self-esteem and body image. The positive effects were particularly strong for those most susceptible to internalizing the thin-ideal body type. The study, published in the journal Body Image, is the first to specifically investigate the impact of a social media break on body image.
Social media has become an integral part of daily life for many people, with young women aged 18 to 29 being the most frequent users. These platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, enable users to share and view images and videos, which often leads to comparisons with others.
Previous research has established a link between heavy social media use and negative mental health outcomes, including poor body image and low self-esteem. Given the popularity of social media and its potential harm to mental health, the researchers aimed to explore whether taking a break from these platforms could improve self-evaluations, especially among vulnerable groups.
The study involved 66 female undergraduate students from York University in Toronto, Canada. These participants, aged 17 to 24, were recruited from an introductory psychology course. Initially, 85 women volunteered, but 19 were excluded due to non-compliance or non-attendance. The final sample reflected a diverse ethnic background: 28.8% South Asian, 18.2% Caucasian, 15.2% African, among others.
The study’s design included two groups: an experimental group instructed to take a one-week break from social media and a control group that continued their usual social media use. Participants were randomly assigned to each group. Both groups used an app to track their social media usage and had two remote sessions with researchers, one at the start and one at the end of the week.
Participants first completed baseline questionnaires measuring self-esteem, body image, and thin-ideal internalization. Self-esteem was assessed using the State Self Esteem Scale, which includes factors such as performance, social, and appearance self-esteem. Body image was measured with the Body Image State Scale, which evaluates satisfaction with one’s appearance. Thin-ideal internalization, or the degree to which one values a thin body type, was measured using the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3.
After completing the baseline measures, participants in the experimental group received tips for staying off social media, such as signing out of apps and using app blockers. The researchers verified adherence to the social media break by reviewing screenshots of app usage. Participants reconvened with the researchers after one week to complete the same measures again and to discuss their experiences.
The results showed that participants who took a one-week break from social media reported significantly higher self-esteem and body satisfaction compared to those who continued their usual social media use. This improvement was evident in overall self-esteem and in specific areas like performance, appearance, and social self-esteem.
“The statistician inside me was excited – we don’t often see effect sizes this large in my area of psychology research because human behaviour is complicated and there’s lots of variability,” explained York University psychology professor Jennifer Mills, co-author of the paper. “We hope this study can be used to help protect young people and influence social media companies to give users more agency in how they interact with these platforms.”
The positive effects on body image were moderated by the participants’ baseline levels of thin-ideal internalization. Those with higher levels of thin-ideal internalization benefitted the most from the social media break. Even participants with below-average levels of thin-ideal internalization showed improved body satisfaction, but the effect was strongest among those who valued thinness the most.
“There’s natural variability in how people feel about their bodies and about themselves in general, so we took that into account statistically, and even after that there were still significant differences between the groups after one week,” Mills said.
Despite the promising findings, the study had limitations. The one-week duration of the social media break is relatively short, and the long-term effects remain unknown. Future research should investigate the impact of longer or repeated breaks and include follow-up assessments to understand the durability of these benefits.
The study’s participants were young women who were willing to take a social media break, which may not be representative of the general population. Future studies could include more diverse samples in terms of gender, age, and motivation to reduce social media use. Future research could also explore the underlying mechanisms of how taking a social media break improves body image and self-esteem.
Nevertheless, the study highlights the potential of a simple, cost-free intervention—taking a break from social media—to improve mental health outcomes for young women. It underscores the significant role that social media plays in shaping self-esteem and body image, and suggests that temporary disengagement from these platforms can disrupt the cycle of negative social comparisons and body dissatisfaction.
The study, “Out of the loop: Taking a one-week break from social media leads to better self-esteem and body image among young women,” was authored by Olivia E. Smith, Jennifer S. Mills, and Lindsay Samson.
