Change in Social Media Use and Well-being Among College Students Receiving a One-week Exercise or Mindfulness Intervention

NCT ID: NCT06143852

Last Updated: 2025-05-31

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

140 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-02-07

Study Completion Date

2024-12-11

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

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.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

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.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Social Media Addiction Depression, Anxiety Well-Being, Psychological

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Three groups of 1) no intervention, 2) mindfulness, or 3) social media reduction + exercise replacement intervention arms
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Both participants and investigators will know which intervention group each participant has been randomized into.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Control

Participants will not receive an intervention. They will receive instructions to use their social media use as usual.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Mindfulness

Approximately 12-minute mindfulness-style meditations will be completed daily for one week through the Calm platform. Participants can listen to the exercise on the web-enabled version of Calm, or through the smartphone app. The course is entitled "7 Days of Gratitude" and centers around noticing and appreciating things in daily life.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mindfulness

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

12 minute daily guided meditation

Social Media Reduction + Exercise

Participants will reduce their social media use by at least 30 minutes daily for one week. Simultaneously, participants will exercise at least 30 minutes daily. Participants are given examples of common exercises (walking, yoga, strength training, etc.), but they are allowed to choose any type, although they are dissuaded from activities with high potential for injury.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Social Media Reduction + Exercise

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Reduce social media use at least 30 minutes daily and exercise instead

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Mindfulness

12 minute daily guided meditation

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Social Media Reduction + Exercise

Reduce social media use at least 30 minutes daily and exercise instead

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* The participant is 18 or older.
* The participant must be a Johns Hopkins University student.
* Owning an iPhone or Android smartphone, with frequent use of social media use daily (\> 1 hour)
* Enabling and sharing screenshots of your smartphone use metrics, including number of last-week pickups, notifications received, and average screen time.
* Providing consent to participate.
* Only exercising 1 hour or less daily, on average.

Exclusion Criteria

* younger than 18
* Not a Johns Hopkins University Student
* Doesn't own a smart phone
* Uses smartphone less than 1 hour daily
* Exercises more than 1 hour daily
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Johannes Thrul

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Hanley SM, Watt SE, Coventry W. Taking a break: The effect of taking a vacation from Facebook and Instagram on subjective well-being. PLoS One. 2019 Jun 6;14(6):e0217743. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217743. eCollection 2019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31170206 (View on PubMed)

Hou, Y., Xiong, D., Jiang, T., Song, L., & Wang, Q. (2019). Social media addiction: Its impact, mediation, and intervention. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 13(1), article 4.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Hunt, M. G., 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.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Lambert J, Barnstable G, Minter E, Cooper J, McEwan D. Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2022 May;25(5):287-293. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2021.0324. Epub 2022 May 3.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35512731 (View on PubMed)

Roberts TA, Daniels EA, Weaver JM, Zanovitch LS. "Intermission!" A short-term social media fast reduces self-objectification among pre-teen and teen dancers. Body Image. 2022 Dec;43:125-133. doi: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.08.015. Epub 2022 Sep 21.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36152479 (View on PubMed)

van Wezel MMC, Abrahamse EL, Vanden Abeele MMP. Does a 7-day restriction on the use of social media improve cognitive functioning and emotional well-being? Results from a randomized controlled trial. Addict Behav Rep. 2021 Jun 15;14:100365. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2021.100365. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 34938826 (View on PubMed)

Vanman EJ, Baker R, Tobin SJ. The burden of online friends: the effects of giving up Facebook on stress and well-being. J Soc Psychol. 2018;158(4):496-507. doi: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1453467. Epub 2018 Apr 9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29558267 (View on PubMed)

Nicuță, E.G., Constantin, T. Take Nothing for Granted: Downward Social Comparison and Counterfactual Thinking Increase Adolescents' State Gratitude for the Little Things in Life. J Happiness Stud 22, 3543-3570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00382-5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Hall, J.A., Xing, C., Ross. E.M., Johnson, R.M. Experimentally manipulating social media abstinence: results of a four-week diary study. Media Psychology, 2019; 24, 259 - 275

Reference Type RESULT

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

IRB00025926

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.