Key TakeawaysSocial media overuse is linked to increased levels of stress and anxiety and diminished concentration.The amount of time you spend on social media shouldn’t negatively impact your sleep, responsibilities, or mental well-being.To cut back on time spent on social platforms, experts recommend setting time limits, disabling notifications, and tracking your screen time.

Key Takeaways

Social media overuse is linked to increased levels of stress and anxiety and diminished concentration.The amount of time you spend on social media shouldn’t negatively impact your sleep, responsibilities, or mental well-being.To cut back on time spent on social platforms, experts recommend setting time limits, disabling notifications, and tracking your screen time.

How much of your workday have you lost to Twitter, and how much sleep have you missed out on because of TikTok? You probably don’t even want to know. There’s no need to be ashamed; a lack of self-control isn’t fully to blame. These apps are designed to be addictive.

“The content on social media is designed to be engaging and often triggers adopaminerelease, which is associated with the pleasure center of our brains,”Joe Whittington, MD, a board-certified emergency medicine specialist based in Southern California, told Verywell. “This reward mechanism can make social media scrolling addictive.”

For all the community and connection social platforms ranging from Facebook to BeReal offer, there are plenty of negative health impacts.A 2021 study of over 5,000 adults linked a year of social media use to the development or increase of depressive symptoms.The constant comparisons social media allows for can hinder self-esteem.And of course, constantly checking app notifications is detrimental to your ability to focus.

Regardless of why you use social media, experts say there are ways to feel less icky about logging screen time, as well as several strategies to help you establish a healthier relationship with social platforms.

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How Much Time Should You Spend on Social Media?

How much time you choose to spend on social media will depend on your personal preferences, lifestyle, and intent of use, whether for entertainment or professional networking. Still, there are ways to set healthy parameters.

If you’re chronically online, it might be tough to impose a daily social media time limit. Your first step should be finding a balance that doesn’t negatively impact your sleep schedule, work responsibilities, personal responsibilities, or mental health, Whittington said. For some people, that might be two to three hours per day, while it could be as little as 10 to 30 minutes for others.

As a general recommendation for adults, Whittington suggests limiting leisure screen time—including social media—to less than two hours per day.

“Limiting your usage to specific short periods—say 20 to 30 minutes, three times a day—could be a good start, ensuring it doesn’t interfere with productivity or personal interactions,” he said.

Another approach involves focusing more on the ratio of online time to offline time.

“Families can and should decide what is a reasonable target amount of time for youth to spend online,” Bennett told Verywell.

Social Anxiety Disorder

What Are the Best and Worst Times of Day to Scroll?

Whittington recommends avoiding social media during the first hour after waking up and the last hour before sleep to minimize negative effects on mood, concentration, and sleep.

“These practices can help in maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm and reduce the impact on sleep quality,” he said.

On the other hand, a brief Instagram break during lunch can serve as a healthy mental break at work that doesn’t detract from productivity during the workday.

When it comes to an appropriate time to use social media, Bennett thinks less about time of day and more about how your time spent glued to a screen can negatively affect those around you.

“A better time to look at social media is during time away from others, when work and other responsibilities are not imminent,” Bennett said. If you take the train to work, consider checking social media during the commute.

Tips to Limit Your Social Media Use

There are many tools and strategies that you can use to cut back on the amount of time you spend on your favorite apps:

“Be mindful of how you feel and your body feels when you engage in social media use,” saidYulia Fox, LMFT, a licensed behavioral health clinician with L.A. Care Health Plan. “Our emotions can give us clues and valuable data on what we need and whether we need to take a break from scrolling, take a few mindful breaths, and go for a walk.”

What This Means For YouAlthough there is no set timeframe for how long you should be using social media, experts generally recommend keeping usage between 30 minutes and two hours per day. To reduce the amount of time you spend on social media, set time limits, disable notifications, and find an accountability partner.

What This Means For You

Although there is no set timeframe for how long you should be using social media, experts generally recommend keeping usage between 30 minutes and two hours per day. To reduce the amount of time you spend on social media, set time limits, disable notifications, and find an accountability partner.

3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Charmaraman L, Hernandez JM, Hodes R.Marginalized and understudied populations using digital media. In: Nesi J, Telzer EH, Prinstein MJ, eds.Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press; 2022:188-214.Perlis RH, Green J, Simonson M, et al.Association between social media use and self-reported symptoms of depression in US adults.JAMA Netw Open.2021;4(11):e2136113. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36113Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, et al.The use of social media in children and adolescents: scoping review on the potential risks.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(16):9960. doi:10.3390/ijerph19169960

3 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Charmaraman L, Hernandez JM, Hodes R.Marginalized and understudied populations using digital media. In: Nesi J, Telzer EH, Prinstein MJ, eds.Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press; 2022:188-214.Perlis RH, Green J, Simonson M, et al.Association between social media use and self-reported symptoms of depression in US adults.JAMA Netw Open.2021;4(11):e2136113. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36113Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, et al.The use of social media in children and adolescents: scoping review on the potential risks.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(16):9960. doi:10.3390/ijerph19169960

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Charmaraman L, Hernandez JM, Hodes R.Marginalized and understudied populations using digital media. In: Nesi J, Telzer EH, Prinstein MJ, eds.Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press; 2022:188-214.Perlis RH, Green J, Simonson M, et al.Association between social media use and self-reported symptoms of depression in US adults.JAMA Netw Open.2021;4(11):e2136113. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36113Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, et al.The use of social media in children and adolescents: scoping review on the potential risks.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(16):9960. doi:10.3390/ijerph19169960

Charmaraman L, Hernandez JM, Hodes R.Marginalized and understudied populations using digital media. In: Nesi J, Telzer EH, Prinstein MJ, eds.Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health. Cambridge University Press; 2022:188-214.

Perlis RH, Green J, Simonson M, et al.Association between social media use and self-reported symptoms of depression in US adults.JAMA Netw Open.2021;4(11):e2136113. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.36113

Bozzola E, Spina G, Agostiniani R, et al.The use of social media in children and adolescents: scoping review on the potential risks.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(16):9960. doi:10.3390/ijerph19169960

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