Now, a new study, published Thursday by the American Psychological Association, validates what some parents have experienced when their teenagers cut back: They seem to feel better about themselves.
Social media can feel like a comparison trap, says study author Helen Thai, a doctoral student in psychology at McGill University.
Her research found that limiting screen time to about one hour a day helped anxious teens and young adults feel better about their body image and their appearance.
"What I noticed when I was engaging in social media was that I couldn't help but compare myself," Thai says.
Half of the participants were asked to reduce their social media to 60 minutes a day for three weeks, Thai says.
Graham says it's encouraging that college students were willing to cut back screen time, even for three weeks.
"This provides some evidence that it may be feasible to engage this age group in reducing social media use," she says. »