Social Media Diet and Psychological Outcomes in University Students (The Effect of)

March 16, 2026 updated by: Hatun Erkuran, Gümüşhane Universıty

The Effect of a Social Media Diet on Loneliness, Fear of Missing Out, and Sleep Quality Among University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to examine the effect of a social media diet intervention on loneliness, fear of missing out (FoMO), and sleep quality among university students. Excessive social media use has been associated with several negative psychological outcomes, including increased loneliness, heightened FoMO, and poor sleep quality.

In this randomized controlled trial, university students will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Participants in the experimental group will follow a social media diet intervention that involves limiting daily social media use for a specified period, while participants in the control group will continue their usual social media use without restrictions.

Loneliness, FoMO, and sleep quality will be measured at baseline and after the intervention using validated scales. The findings of this study are expected to provide evidence on whether reducing social media use can improve psychological well-being and sleep quality among university students.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study aims to investigate the effects of a social media diet intervention on loneliness, fear of missing out (FoMO), and sleep quality among university students. With the widespread use of digital technologies, social media has become an integral part of daily life, particularly among young adults and university students. Although social media platforms provide opportunities for communication and information sharing, excessive and uncontrolled use has been associated with several negative psychological outcomes, including increased loneliness, higher levels of FoMO, and poor sleep quality.

FoMO refers to the pervasive apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, and it has been identified as an important psychological mechanism that drives excessive social media engagement. Continuous exposure to social media content and the pressure to stay constantly connected may contribute to sleep disturbances and reduced well-being among university students.

In recent years, the concept of a "social media diet" or digital detox has emerged as a potential strategy to reduce the negative effects of excessive social media use. A social media diet generally refers to intentionally limiting the amount of time spent on social media platforms in order to improve psychological well-being and daily functioning.

This study will be conducted as a randomized controlled trial with university students. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will follow a social media diet by limiting their daily social media use for a specified intervention period, while the control group will continue their usual social media use without restrictions. Data will be collected at baseline and after the intervention period using validated scales measuring loneliness, FoMO, and sleep quality.

The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the growing body of evidence on behavioral interventions aimed at reducing problematic social media use and improving mental well-being and sleep health among university students

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

70

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Gümüşhane Province
      • Gümüşhane, Gümüşhane Province, Turkey (Türkiye), 29600
        • Recruiting
        • Gümüşhane Üniversity
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being between the ages of 18-25.
  • Being a student at Gumushane University Kelkit Sema Dogan Vocational School of Health Services.
  • Having a daily social media usage time of at least 2 hours (verified by smartphone screen time settings).
  • Owning a smartphone (Android or iOS).
  • Volunteering to participate in the study and providing written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a diagnosed clinical sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnea, chronic insomnia) or using prescribed sleep medication.
  • Having a diagnosed psychiatric disorder that may interfere with social media use or perception of loneliness.
  • Use of other digital detox or time-management applications during the study period.
  • Being unable to provide weekly screen time screenshots.
  • Planning to change smartphone device during the 4-week intervention period.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Social Media Diet Intervention
Participants assigned to the experimental group will follow a social media diet intervention aimed at reducing daily social media usage. They will be instructed to limit their daily social media use to a maximum of 30 minutes per day for the duration of the intervention period (e.g., four weeks). Participants will be encouraged to monitor their usage through smartphone screen-time tracking tools.
Behavioral: Social Media Diet
Participants in the control group will continue their usual social media use without any restrictions during the study period.
Other Names:
  • digital detox
No Intervention: Usual Social Media Use
Participants in the control group will continue their usual social media usage without any restrictions or behavioral intervention during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).
Evaluation of the level of anxiety related to missing experiences on social media. The scale consists of 10 items (or the specific version you use), with scores ranging from [Min Score] to [Max Score]. Higher scores indicate a higher level of fear of missing out.
Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
UCLA Loneliness Scale Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).
Measurement of subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. The scale consists of 20 items. Total scores range from 20 to 80, where higher scores reflect greater perceived loneliness.
Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) Global Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).
Assessment of sleep quality over a 1-month period. The global score ranges from 0 to 21. A total score of 5 or greater indicates "poor" sleep quality.
Baseline (Week 0) and post-intervention (Week 4).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Gümüşhane Universıty

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 18, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 16, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Gumushane University Kelkit

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The individual participant data collected during the study will not be shared with third parties to ensure the confidentiality of the participants and in accordance with the informed consent form approved by the ethics committee.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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