Predicting Psychological Symptoms When Facebook's Digital Well-being Features Are Used: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Tamara Barsova, Zi Gi Cheong, Ann R Mak, Jean Cj Liu, Tamara Barsova, Zi Gi Cheong, Ann R Mak, Jean Cj Liu

Abstract

Background: Prior research has linked social media usage to poorer mental health. To address these concerns, social media platforms have introduced digital well-being tools to help users monitor their engagement. Nonetheless, little is known about the effectiveness of these tools.

Objective: In this study, we focused on Facebook to assess users' awareness and usage of the following six Facebook well-being tools: the Unfollow, Snooze, Off-Facebook Activity, Your Time on Facebook, Set Daily Reminders, and Notification Settings features. Additionally, we examined whether the use of these tools was associated with better mental health outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 598 Facebook users. The survey comprised questions about (1) baseline Facebook use, (2) the adoption of Facebook's digital well-being tools, and (3) participant demographics. These were used to predict the primary outcome measure-scores on the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale.

Results: Most participants (580/598, 97%) knew about Facebook's digital well-being tools, but each tool was used by only 17.4% (104/598) to 55.5% (332/598) of participants. In turn, the use of two tools was associated with better well-being; although participants who spent more time on Facebook reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, those who managed their feed content or notifications by using the Unfollow or Notification Settings features had lower scores on each of these measures. However, the use of the Snooze, Off-Facebook Activity, Your Time on Facebook, or Set Time Reminder features was not associated with lower depression, anxiety, or stress scores.

Conclusions: Of the 6 Facebook digital well-being tools, only 2 were associated with better mental health among users. This underscores the complexity of designing social media platforms to promote user welfare. Consequently, we urge further research into understanding the efficacy of various digital well-being tools.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04967846; https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT04967846.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; digital well-being; mental health; social media; stress.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

©Tamara Barsova, Zi Gi Cheong, Ann R Mak, Jean CJ Liu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 29.08.2022.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
For each of the nine Facebook activities, participants rated whether they used it (1) multiple times a day, (2) once a day, (3) 4 to 6 times a week, (4) once a week, (5) every 2 weeks, (6) once a month, or (7) never. Each horizontal bar indicates the percentage of participants who chose each option.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participants indicated their awareness and usage of Facebook’s in-app digital well-being tools (Unfollow, Snooze, Off-Facebook Activity, Your Time on Facebook, Set Daily Reminders, and Notification Settings).

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