Screen-time, psychopathology, and “dopamine detox”

Variety of longitudinal, cross-sectional, and experimental studies highlighted that screen time in general and social media use via smartphone specifically have a substantial role in in mental distress, risk behaviours, and suicidality among youth. Also there is a dose–response relationship and the effects appear to be greater among girls. In this context we have recently published three studies highlighting the association between the screen time and psychopathological outcomes. Our showcase study published in JAMA highlighted time varying associations between social media use and depression explained by upward social comparison and reinforcing spirals hypotheses than by the displacement hypothesis. Similar adverse effects were found regarding youth alcohol use and anxiety levels. In this context influencers and content creators took initiative to increase the awareness around pathological social media use and screen time with pop science experiments referring to “dopamine detox”. Here Sam explains his journey: “For the past month I’ve been trying to be more mindful of my impulsive behaviours towards instant gratification activities in an attempt to reduce the distractions in my life.”