Gen Z’s Social Media Detox Dilemma

A Marist student removes TikTok from their phone. Photo by Matthew Devine '24

Generation Z, those who fall between the age range of 13 to 26, contains over 56 million social media users, with 38% spending over four hours a day on social media. In recent years, many young people have attempted to unplug themselves from these platforms in hopes of improving their mental health through a full detox. However, the question remains as to whether the benefits truly outweigh the setbacks.

According to a study reported by Psychology Today last October, social media can be used to create a sense of community, but when overused, it is linked to depression and other mental illnesses. Following suit, teens and young adults are documenting their personal experience with social media detoxing on YouTube — which can range from a few days to permanently deleting apps. 

“It was getting to a point where my screen time was much higher than I wanted it to be, and that was because of my social media usage,” said Isabella Nuzzo ‘24. “When I spend time on social media, especially on TikTok, I find it easy to mindlessly scroll for hours without absorbing any valuable information. I also found myself comparing my life to others to the point where it was becoming bad for my mental health. I wanted to try to do something about it.”

Although many young people attempt to detox from social media, it is not a straightforward task, resulting in many obstacles that may make it difficult to stay away. For Nuzzo, without having a set goal in mind after deleting her social media, she struggled with what to do without her usual digital routine.

“When I was waking up, a big habit of mine is to just scroll through Instagram. It is a nice feeling when I'm not immediately starting my day, and I can go into someone else's life,” said Nuzzo. “I feel like the detox was a bit anxiety-provoking because I didn't have that buffer since I immediately had to get up and just think about what I was doing for the day.”

Nuzzo lasted only a couple days before redownloading Instagram and TikTok, and she described feeling an “instant relief” once she checked if she had any messages or notifications.

According to Dr. Mary Stone, chair and associate professor of psychology at Marist College, the psychology of social media relates to neurotransmitters in the brain released to feel positive: serotonin and dopamine. While serotonin is associated with feeling calm and alert, dopamine is much more like a rush of pleasure while doing something thrilling — and social media involves the latter.

“What we see with increased use of social media are these dopamine surges, as opposed to increased serotonin, which we see with more real-person interaction,” said Stone. “And when people are getting a big hit and addicted to that dopamine rush, you can see similar types of negative effects as other types of addictions, such as withdrawal, depression, anxiety and you're just always kind of chasing that next surge.” 

Blair Nackley ‘24 offers a success story amidst the detox trend. She completed it for a seven-month period and found that both her sleep and schedule improved. Nackley found that the fear of missing out was not as bad as she thought.

“The detox was pretty beneficial for my mental health. You're just not constantly in the loop, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I had to find new hobbies and other things to do with my time,” said Nackley. 

Robbin Torres, assistant dean of student engagement and leadership and adjunct lecturer at Marist, advises students to have a plan before beginning a detox, which includes deciding which apps to delete, how much screen time to limit and what meaningful activities you might try instead.

“Perhaps each day, creating a journal entry is a good idea. Noting: how is today different? How would you rate your level of anxiety about not being on social media? What did you appreciate more? That way you can look back at a record and see how they really felt without it,” said Torres. 

Because FOMO (fear of missing out) is real when detoxing from social media, losing connection with others can be concerning. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, the desire for constant connection may mimic and contribute to symptoms of anxiety.

But Torres offers simple advice as a remedy.

“Go outside, get a little vitamin D, look at people's faces and appreciate the path around you,” said Torres. Those things that can help elevate mood and connect you with reality — after all, one of the things we know about this generation is there is more depression and anxiety.”