Blocking internet on mobile devices improves well-being, mental health
Key takeaways:
- Most study participants improved on at least one of the three outcomes examined.
- When participants did not have access to mobile internet, they spent more time socializing in person, according to researchers.
Blocking mobile internet on mobile devices for 2 weeks improved subjective well-being, as well as mental health and the ability to sustain attention, according to study results.
Of note, study participants who did not fully comply with the intervention still experienced more modest, but significant improvements, researchers concluded.
Image: Adobe Stock.
“These findings suggest that constant connection to the online world comes at a cost, since psychological functioning improves when this connection is reduced,” Noah Castelo, PhD, assistant professor in the department of marketing, business economics and law at Alberta School of Business in Canada, and colleagues wrote.
Previous research suggests that smartphone use is negatively associated with mental health and cognitive functioning, but few large-scale experiments have examined the causal effects, according to study background.
For this reason, Castelo and colleagues conducted a preregistered randomized controlled trial that examined whether blocking internet access on the smartphones of 467 study participants affected their well-being, mental health and attentional functioning.
The researchers asked participants to install the Freedom smartphone application, which blocked all mobile internet access — including Wi-Fi and mobile data — from their smartphones for 2 weeks, but permitted text messages and phone calls. Participants still had internet access from other connected devices, such as laptops or tablets.
The researchers measured three overall outcomes: subjective well-being; overall mental health, which included symptoms of anxiety and depression; and attentional functioning, using both self-reported attentional awareness and objectively measured sustained attention.
According to study results, the majority of participants (91%) improved on at least one of the three outcomes.
Blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks decreased smartphone use and improved subjective well-being, including life satisfaction and positive affect; mental health, more than antidepressants; and sustained attention — as much as being 10 years younger, according to the researchers.
Moreover, results of mediation analyses indicated that improvements in the outcomes studied could be somewhat explained by the impact of the intervention on how participants spent their time.
“When people did not have access to mobile internet, they spent more time socializing in person, exercising and being in nature,” Castelo and colleagues wrote. “These results provide causal evidence that blocking mobile internet can improve important psychological outcomes, and suggest that maintaining the status quo of constant connection to the internet may be detrimental to time use, cognitive functioning and well-being.”
Perspective
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The widespread availability of the internet and social media on smartphones has undeniably had a profound effect on mental health, while also reducing face-to-face social interactions.
This study by Castelo and colleagues sought to evaluate the impact of restricting internet access on smartphones through a randomized controlled trial. Remarkably, the results revealed improvements in mood, an overall sense of well-being and enhanced mental health for most participants who had their internet access blocked.
This research should encourage us to reflect on our own habits and consider limiting our internet use to foster deeper personal connections and improve our mental well-being as physicians and oncologists.
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
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