Does blocking someone on Facebook, X or WhatsApp improve mental health? Here’s what experts say

Almost everyone has blocked someone on a social network, including WhatsApp. After all, it is an everyday action in these times, and it even seems to have become fashionable on a lot of platforms: they are the users themselves who recommend it to do it strongly at the first opportunity.

The reason most of them argue is clear: it favors mental health. But everything that is said precisely on sites like FacebookX or TikTok do not always have to correspond to reality. How much truth is there in this case? Many studies have been trying to provide a coherent answer for years, and their conclusions point in a clear direction.

Blocking someone and mental health

It is no mystery to anyone that blocking someone on social media or WhatsApp (which is still a social network, even if it is sometimes forgotten) is becoming more and more common. In fact, it is striking how this restrictive option has gradually become normalized. What once seemed typical of teenagers or tantrums, is now very well regarded.

The reason, precisely, is in the social networks themselves. For some time now, it is very common to find users who talk about their own experiences, referring to how happy they are since they blocked their ex-partner, or someone toxic who did not contribute anything to them on the Internet. Some simply highlight the benefits for mental health of blocking friends and strangers.

And what does science say about this? On this occasion, it seems to have no choice but to agree with popular custom. According to the exhaustive study Social Media Use and Its Impact on Relationships and Emotions that Drs. Amanda F. Primack and Brian A. Primack conducted in 2020, Many of the TikTokers who recommend this practice are right.

After analyzing in depth the negative interactions that social networks could have on people, and the way in which they affect emotions or relationships, they concluded that Blocking conflict-ridden individuals can help maintain healthier relationships and reduce emotional conflicts.. Something that improves mental health, logically.

Science gives the users reason

The specialists who developed the work were in the same line. Types of Social Media Use and Digital Stress in Early Adolescencewho put the spotlight on the youngest. After delving deeper into the matter, they also They admitted that blocking users can help limit the stress and have a healthier relationship with all social networks.

Interestingly, these results contrast with those who tried to spend a week without social media, and found that in these cases the changes in users were minimal. One thing is clear, though: contrary to popular belief, social media is sometimes right, especially when it recommends blocking someone to improve mental health.

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