Don't make “how other people are doing” your daily reading: set limits on, or turn off, apps that show your peers' posts

Cost

Free. Setting app limits or deactivating an account is a matter of a few minutes. The hard part is not opening it again afterward, which means working against habit for a long time.

What you get

Pooling several studies (a meta-analysis): 54 independent samples, 94 effect sizes, N = 36,583, using a three-level random-effects model. The average correlation between upward social comparison online and psychological maladjustment was r = 0.330 (95% CI 0.289–0.370, the plausible range). Broken down by outcome: socially evaluative negative emotions such as fear of being looked down on, 0.438; anxiety, 0.382; depression, 0.306; low well-being, 0.268; low self-esteem, 0.263. Age, cultural background and the year the data were collected did not affect the strength of this link. Results from long-term follow-up studies were also no stronger than those from surveys taken at a single point in time. There was also a randomized controlled trial of 2,743 U.S. Facebook users. Among them, 61% were willing to accept deactivation for less than 102 US dollars. These people were randomly assigned to a four-week deactivation group or a control group. For the average participant, deactivation freed up 60 minutes a day. The subjective well-being index rose by 0.09 standard deviations. By part: life satisfaction 0.12, anxiety 0.10, depression 0.09, happiness 0.08. After removing what comes up by chance from making many comparisons, these still count. The authors gave a reference point: psychological interventions meant to make people more positive. Such interventions change subjective well-being by about +0.34 standard deviations and depression by about -0.23 standard deviations. So this effect is about 25% to 40% of a typical psychological intervention. The cost over the same period: the current-events knowledge index fell by 0.19 standard deviations and political polarization fell by 0.16 standard deviations. After the experiment ended, the deactivation group still used Facebook 12 minutes/day less than the control group (0.31 standard deviations, a 23% reduction). There was also a randomized controlled trial of 143 undergraduates, randomly split into two groups. One group limited each of Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 10 minutes a day, and the other used them as usual. After three weeks, loneliness and depression fell clearly in the limited group. Anxiety and fear of missing out were lower than at the start in both groups.

Notes

The “correlation” half only shows two things appearing together and cannot be read as one causing the other; the authors themselves say more long-term follow-up studies are needed. The randomized half can speak to cause, but the participants were Facebook users before the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, so applying it to platforms in China is a stretch. The Hunt study has only 143 undergraduates, and it is the only one. The effect sizes are not large, so don't expect that turning off an app will solve a mood problem. What to block is the “see how other people are doing” kind of use; keeping in touch with family and friends, looking up information and job hunting are not included. If you really can't hold back, start by turning off push notifications, “people you may know” and homepage recommendations. For the accounting of total screen time, see §4.15, §4.16 (a hard cap on short videos, no scrolling news). For what to do first when your mood is low, see §3.18 (get moving, get sunlight, sleep on time). For buying things to recover a sense of identity, see §6.23. For spending more to “move up a notch,” see §6.24.

Evidence grade

A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.

Sources

1. Lei Y, Hu S, Sun Y, Zheng L (2026). "Looking up" linked to feeling down: a meta-analysis of online upward social comparison and psychological maladjustment. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1825169
2. Allcott H, Braghieri L, Eichmeyer S, Gentzkow M (2020). The Welfare Effects of Social Media. American Economic Review, 110(3), 629–676. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20190658
3. Allcott H, Braghieri L, Eichmeyer S, Gentzkow M (2019). The Welfare Effects of Social Media. NBER Working Paper No. 25514（本条引用的具体数字按这一版逐字核对，刊出版的摘要不含数字）. https://www.nber.org/papers/w25514
4. Hunt MG, Marx R, Lipson C, Young J (2018). No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 3, tip 20. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer