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The investigators will be randomizing 150 college student participants with high levels of social media use into either a 1) control condition (no intervention), a 2) mindfulness meditation cognitive intervention, or 3) a social media reduction + exercise replacement intervention. Participants complete intervention activities daily for one week. The investigators will collect self-report and behavioral measures of social media use and related psychological constructs at three time points: baseline, immediately after the intervention period, and one-week after the intervention period.
The objective of this study is to test two cognitive and behavioral interventions designed to reduce social media use and psychological constructs related to social media use in a sample of university students.
The first cognitive intervention is a mindfulness meditation exercise taken from the Calm app centering around gratitude. Each meditation takes approximately 12 minutes to complete and is to be done daily for one week. The second behavioral intervention is asking participants to reduce social media use for 30 minutes daily for one week and replacing that time with physical exercise of the participants' choosing.
Aim 1: Compare psychological constructs related to mental health (well-being, stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, social comparisons, etc.) before and after conducting two social media use interventions over a period of one week, compared to a control condition (no intervention).
Aim 2: Compare self-reported and behavioral (smartphone screen shots of social media use screen time) measures of social media use before and after two social media use interventions over a period of over one week, compared to a control condition (no intervention).
Aim 3: Examine mental health and social media use one week after the intervention period is complete (follow up), examining or testing whether effects last beyond the intervention period.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | No Intervention | Participants will not receive an intervention. They will receive instructions to use their social media use as usual. | |
| Mindfulness | Experimental | Approximately 12-minute mindfulness-style meditations will be completed daily for one week through the Calm platform. Participants can listen to the exercise on the web-enabled version of Calm, or through the smartphone app. The course is entitled "7 Days of Gratitude" and centers around noticing and appreciating things in daily life. |
|
| Social Media Reduction + Exercise | Experimental | Participants will reduce their social media use by at least 30 minutes daily for one week. Simultaneously, participants will exercise at least 30 minutes daily. Participants are given examples of common exercises (walking, yoga, strength training, etc.), but they are allowed to choose any type, although they are dissuaded from activities with high potential for injury. |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness | Behavioral | 12 minute daily guided meditation |
| |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21) | Score range = 0-63, higher score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF) scale | Score range = 13-65, lower score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Smartphone screen time (minutes) for social media use | Past-week amount of screen time for social media use | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Number of Social media use smartphone pick-ups | Past-week total number of smartphone pick-ups for social media use applications | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Percent of time using social media | Past-week percent of time using social media compared to other smartphone application categories. | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Social media use notifications received | Past-week total number of notifications received for social media use applications | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Change in University of California, Los Angeles 3-Item Loneliness Scale | Score range = 3-9, higher score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in The Gratitude Questionnaire, 6-item form (GQ-6) scale |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Johannes Thrul | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore | Maryland | 21218 | United States |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31170206 | Background | Hanley SM, Watt SE, Coventry W. Taking a break: The effect of taking a vacation from Facebook and Instagram on subjective well-being. PLoS One. 2019 Jun 6;14(6):e0217743. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217743. eCollection 2019. | |
| Background | Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 13(1), article 4. | ||
| Background | Hunt, M. G., Marx, R., Lipson, C., & Young, J. (2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751-768. | ||
| 35512731 |
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We will discuss as a team the how to share individual participant data with other researchers in a confidential manner.
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Three groups of 1) no intervention, 2) mindfulness, or 3) social media reduction + exercise replacement intervention arms
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Both participants and investigators will know which intervention group each participant has been randomized into.
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| Social Media Reduction + Exercise |
| Behavioral |
Reduce social media use at least 30 minutes daily and exercise instead |
|
Score range = 6-42, lower score = worse outcome |
| baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Motivations for Electronic Interaction Scale (MEIS) | Score range = 10-50, higher score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes (CompACT-15) scale | Score range = 0-138, lower scores = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) | Score range = 6-35, higher score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Fear of Missing Out Scale | Score range = 10-50, higher score = worse outcome | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Hours spent socializing in-person with peers | Score range = 0-20+ hours of in-person socialization, lower scores = worse outcomes | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Change in Number of evenings of past-week recreation | Score range = 0-7 evenings of recreation, lower scores = worse outcomes | baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week |
| Background |
| Lambert J, Barnstable G, Minter E, Cooper J, McEwan D. Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2022 May;25(5):287-293. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0324. Epub 2022 May 3. |
| 36152479 | Background | Roberts TA, Daniels EA, Weaver JM, Zanovitch LS. "Intermission!" A short-term social media fast reduces self-objectification among pre-teen and teen dancers. Body Image. 2022 Dec;43:125-133. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.08.015. Epub 2022 Sep 21. |
| 34938826 | Background | van Wezel MMC, Abrahamse EL, Vanden Abeele MMP. Does a 7-day restriction on the use of social media improve cognitive functioning and emotional well-being? Results from a randomized controlled trial. Addict Behav Rep. 2021 Jun 15;14:100365. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2021.100365. eCollection 2021 Dec. |
| 29558267 | Background | Vanman EJ, Baker R, Tobin SJ. The burden of online friends: the effects of giving up Facebook on stress and well-being. J Soc Psychol. 2018;158(4):496-507. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1453467. Epub 2018 Apr 9. |
| Background | Nicuță, E.G., Constantin, T. Take Nothing for Granted: Downward Social Comparison and Counterfactual Thinking Increase Adolescents' State Gratitude for the Little Things in Life. J Happiness Stud 22, 3543-3570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00382-5. |
| Result | Hall, J.A., Xing, C., Ross. E.M., Johnson, R.M. Experimentally manipulating social media abstinence: results of a four-week diary study. Media Psychology, 2019; 24, 259 - 275 |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D000082424 | Internet Addiction Disorder |
| D003863 | Depression |
| D001008 | Anxiety Disorders |
| D000092862 | Psychological Well-Being |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D000088942 | Technology Addiction |
| D016739 | Behavior, Addictive |
| D003192 | Compulsive Behavior |
| D007175 | Impulsive Behavior |
| D001519 | Behavior |
| D001526 | Behavioral Symptoms |
| D001523 | Mental Disorders |
| D010549 | Personal Satisfaction |
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| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D064866 | Mindfulness |
| D015444 | Exercise |
| ID | Term |
|---|---|
| D015928 | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy |
| D001521 | Behavior Therapy |
| D011613 | Psychotherapy |
| D004191 | Behavioral Disciplines and Activities |
| D009043 | Motor Activity |
| D009068 | Movement |
| D009142 | Musculoskeletal Physiological Phenomena |
| D055687 | Musculoskeletal and Neural Physiological Phenomena |
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