Social Media Diet and Psychological Outcomes in University Students
Recruiting now · Not applicable
Conditions studied: Loneliness, Fear of Missing Out, Sleep Quality
In brief
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.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT07473791
- Run by
- Gümüşhane Universıty
- People needed
- 70
- Starts
- 2026-03-10
- Expected to finish
- 2026-08-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-08-03
Who can join
Age: 17 and older, up to 25. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- 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.
You may not qualify if…
- 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.
Where it is running
- Gümüşhane University — Gümüşhane, Gümüşhane Province, Turkey (Türkiye) (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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