Can you take a break fromsocial media?
A University of Leeds study for adults aged 18 to 21 who use social media and are willing to pause it for a month, with two visits to our EEG laboratory before and after.
Already taking part? Mid-break check-in · After your break · Carry on sending your data
What the study involves.
Researchers in the School of Psychology are exploring how a temporary break from social media relates to brain activity, attention, behaviour and wellbeing. This is the laboratory part of the MyPhone/MyBrain programme.
What you will do
- Attend two sessions of about two hours in our lab, before and after the break.
- Take a 30-day break from social media, using a small device called Brick that restricts the apps you agree with us in advance. Calls, messages, WhatsApp and essential apps keep working.
- Share screenshots of your phone’s screen-time summary straight away, then your own data download from each of TikTok, YouTube and Instagram that you use, starting with the one you use most. Each is a separate request and can take a few days to arrive. This site reduces each one on your device to when you watched, liked or searched, the links, your search words and simple totals.
- Complete simple computer-based tasks and short questionnaires, and brief weekly check-ins during the break.
What we measure in the lab
- Brain activity with EEG: a lightweight headset that records the brain’s natural electrical signals. It is safe and painless.
- Heart activity with ECG: small sensors on the skin.
- Eye movements with eye-tracking glasses that you wear during the computer tasks. They record where you look, not images of you.
Who can take part
- You are aged 18 to 21.
- You regularly use social media, including TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, so that you can share your usage data from them.
- You are willing to take a temporary break from social media.
What you receive
£75 in total: £25 for each lab visit, plus £25 for completing every part of the study. If you withdraw part-way, you are paid for the sessions you completed. Taking part is voluntary and you can stop at any time without giving a reason.
Your data stays yours
You take screenshots of your screen-time summary and request your own data from TikTok, Google Takeout for YouTube, or Instagram, and this site reads the download on your own device. It keeps only what the study needs, such as when you watched or searched and the link, drops everything else, including messages, contacts and location, and shows you exactly what is left. You untick anything you would rather keep private before a single byte of it is sent. Your screen-time screenshots are sent as you take them, so crop out any app you would rather not show. Everything is labelled with a participant ID, never your name.
The full participant information sheet is shown, section by section, before you are asked to consent, and you can download a copy of your signed consent for your own records.
Already taking part?
Need to change your lab visits? Book, change or cancel them → Sign in with your participant ID (it is in our emails) or the same name, date of birth and postcode, up to 24 hours before a visit.
During your break
Once a week, a quick check-in of about two minutes: a few questions about how it is going, and a screenshot of your screen time if you can. Then, if you like, MyStory: a moment from your week in your own words, and a few quick questions about it. We email (or text) you a link each week, or just enter your participant ID, or the same name, date of birth and postcode as at the start.
Mid-break check-in →After your break
On the last day of your break, before you unlock your apps, take your screen-time screenshots and send them on the after-break page. Once your apps are unlocked, request a new data download from each app and send it there too. It is shorter than the first time: nothing to sign again, just your participant ID, or the same name, date of birth and postcode as at the start.
After your break →Your data in this study
- What is collected: your screen-time screenshots, the cleaned files from your apps, your check-in answers and any MyStory stories, and the record of your consent (with your name, signature, date of birth and postcode), plus the mobile number you give when you sign up and the email address you give when you book, for your bookings and reminders and so the team can contact you.
- How it is labelled: research data carry your participant ID, never your name. Your name and contact details are kept separately, for the study coordinators only.
- Where it is kept: secure storage run for the University of Leeds, which is the data controller. Only the research team can see it.
- Changing your mind: what you have sent is kept and used unless you ask to withdraw, which you can do up to one month after your final session. Email Miftah Faizah to ask.
Questions
Contact Miftah Faizah, School of Psychology, University of Leeds, at M.Faizah@leeds.ac.uk, or the study lead, Professor Faisal Mushtaq, at F.Mushtaq@leeds.ac.uk.
This study has been approved by the University of Leeds School of Psychology Research Ethics Committee, reference SoPREC 4202, on 11 June 2026. The University of Leeds is the data controller; the University’s research participant privacy notice explains your rights.