Trial reportPloS one2022
Effects of restricting social media usage on wellbeing and performance: A randomized control trial among students.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Academic Self-Efficacy as a Mediator Between Risk for Social Media Addiction, Nomophobia, and Clinical Performance Among Nursing Internship Students: A Structural Equation Model.Journal of nursing management · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of health promotion intervention on knowledge regarding psychological dependence on the internet and social media among adolescents in South India.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Social media use, gaming and quality of life among adolescents in Norway: results from the Young-HUNT study.Health and quality of life outcomes · 2025Article
- Am I Happier Without You? Social Media Detox and Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The evolving role of social media in enhancing quality of life: a global perspective across 10 countries.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2024Article
- Improving the Evidence-Based Practice Skills of Entry-Level Physiotherapy Students through Educational Interventions: A Scoping Review of Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Article
- A Nudge-Based Intervention to Reduce Problematic Smartphone Use: Randomised Controlled Trial.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent research has shown that social media services create large consumer surplus. Despite their positive impact on economic welfare, concerns are raised about the negative association between social media usage and well-being or performance. However, causal empirical evidence is still scarce. To address this research gap, we conduct a randomized controlled trial among students in which we track participants' daily digital activities over the course of three quarters of an academic year. In the experiment, we randomly allocate half of the sample to a treatment condition in which social media usage (Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat) is restricted to a maximum of 10 minutes per day. We find that participants in the treatment group substitute social media for instant messaging and do not decrease their total time spent on digital devices. Contrary to findings from previous correlational studies, we do not find any significant impact of social media usage as it was defined in our study on well-being and academic success. Our results also suggest that antitrust authorities should consider instant messaging and social media services as direct competitors before approving acquisitions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.