Feeling Less Envious and Depressed After Logging Off: How Comparison Tendencies Shape Emotional Relief and Indirect Well-Being Gains

Abstract

Social media use has been increasingly linked to reduced mental well-being, with upward social comparisons playing a key role in this relationship by triggering negative emotional responses such as envy and depressive feelings, collectively referred to as upward contrastive emotions (UCE). This study experimentally investigated whether a short social media detox could reduce UCE and improve mental well-being, and whether these effects were moderated by individuals’ ability-based social comparison orientation (SCOA). A total of 69 participants aged 18–25 were randomly assigned to a 7-day detox (n = 34) or control group (n = 35). Participants completed pre- and post-intervention surveys measuring UCE, mental well-being, and SCOA. Results showed that the detox significantly reduced UCE, especially for individuals high in SCOA. Moderated mediation analysis revealed that reductions in UCE partially explained improvements in mental well-being, but only among participants with average or high SCOA. These findings provide experimental evidence that taking a short break from social media can interrupt harmful emotional comparison cycles and enhance well-being, particularly for individuals prone to ability-based comparisons.