The investigators will be randomizing 150 college student participants with high levels of social media use into either a 1) control condition (no intervention), a 2) mindfulness meditation cognitive intervention, or 3) a social media reduction + exercise replacement intervention. Participants complete intervention activities daily for one week. The investigators will collect self-report and behavioral measures of social media use and related psychological constructs at three time points: baseline, immediately after the intervention period, and one-week after the intervention period.
The objective of this study is to test two cognitive and behavioral interventions designed to reduce social media use and psychological constructs related to social media use in a sample of university students. The first cognitive intervention is a mindfulness meditation exercise taken from the Calm app centering around gratitude. Each meditation takes approximately 12 minutes to complete and is to be done daily for one week. The second behavioral intervention is asking participants to reduce social media use for 30 minutes daily for one week and replacing that time with physical exercise of the participants' choosing. Aim 1: Compare psychological constructs related to mental health (well-being, stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, social comparisons, etc.) before and after conducting two social media use interventions over a period of one week, compared to a control condition (no intervention). Aim 2: Compare self-reported and behavioral (smartphone screen shots of social media use screen time) measures of social media use before and after two social media use interventions over a period of over one week, compared to a control condition (no intervention). Aim 3: Examine mental health and social media use one week after the intervention period is complete (follow up), examining or testing whether effects last beyond the intervention period.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
140
12 minute daily guided meditation
Reduce social media use at least 30 minutes daily and exercise instead
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Change in Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21)
Score range = 0-63, higher score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF) scale
Score range = 13-65, lower score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Smartphone screen time (minutes) for social media use
Past-week amount of screen time for social media use
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Number of Social media use smartphone pick-ups
Past-week total number of smartphone pick-ups for social media use applications
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Percent of time using social media
Past-week percent of time using social media compared to other smartphone application categories.
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Social media use notifications received
Past-week total number of notifications received for social media use applications
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in University of California, Los Angeles 3-Item Loneliness Scale
Score range = 3-9, higher score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in The Gratitude Questionnaire, 6-item form (GQ-6) scale
Score range = 6-42, lower score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Motivations for Electronic Interaction Scale (MEIS)
Score range = 10-50, higher score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Processes (CompACT-15) scale
Score range = 0-138, lower scores = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS)
Score range = 6-35, higher score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Fear of Missing Out Scale
Score range = 10-50, higher score = worse outcome
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Hours spent socializing in-person with peers
Score range = 0-20+ hours of in-person socialization, lower scores = worse outcomes
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
Change in Number of evenings of past-week recreation
Score range = 0-7 evenings of recreation, lower scores = worse outcomes
Time frame: baseline, immediately post intervention, post intervention up to one week
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.