Disrupting social media habits: a one-week detox produces enduring reductions in use and automaticity

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Abstract
This randomised controlled trial examines if a one-week social media abstinence intervention can reduce social media use by lowering automaticity of and craving for social media use. Participants motivated to reduce their social media use were assigned to an immediate one-week detox (N = 50) or a waitlist control condition (N = 64). Using a combination of smartphone usage logging and weekly surveys, we found that the detox produced significant reductions in social media use (d = 0.51), automaticity (d = 1.10), and craving (d = 0.58) one week post-detox relative to the waitlist group. Exploratory mediation analyses provided suggestive evidence that automaticity partially mediated the detox's effect on social media use. Furthermore, baseline automaticity predicted self-reported vulnerability to slips of action during the detox, i.e. spontaneous attempts to open removed apps. Pooling data from both groups after each had completed the detox (N = 108), we found that the reductions persisted across the three-week follow-up and that social media use remained below baseline at a six-month follow-up in a subsample (N = 46). The detox also shifted participants' subjective relationship with social media, increasing perceived control and reducing self-reported mindlessness, without changing how much they liked it or considered it purposeful. Together, these findings suggest that for those who want to cut back, taking a short break is an effective way to disrupt social media habits and restore a sense of control.