FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LAGUNA BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
CONTACT: ANAKAREN UREÑO
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT
949-497-7700 EXT. 5232 | AURENO@LBUSD.ORG

September 11, 2026

LBHS releases findings from Social Media Silence Challenge
White paper examines student experiences during voluntary five-day social media pilot

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. — Laguna Beach Unified School District has released a white paper examining findings from Laguna Beach High School’s Social Media Silence Challenge, a voluntary five-day pilot designed to explore students’ experiences with social media use, attention, and well-being.

Developed by the LBHS counseling team during the 2025-26 school year, the challenge grew out of conversations with students about distraction, stress, sleep, screen time, social comparison, and the pressure to remain connected. The pilot provided participating students with an opportunity to temporarily step away from social media and reflect on their habits and experiences.

Across two cohorts, participating students temporarily deleted social media apps and completed pre- and post-challenge surveys, daily reflection journals, interviews, and facilitated group discussions. Survey responses showed a 52% decrease in students reporting feeling pressure to stay constantly connected, a 42% decrease in students reporting multitasking between schoolwork and social media, and a 41% decrease in students reporting online social comparison. The percentage of students who reported an urge to check their phones or social media declined from 69% on Day 1 to 27% on Day 5, a 61% decrease.

Student reflections provided additional context for the survey results. Participants described becoming more aware of when and why they reached for their phones and reported spending time on activities such as homework, exercise, reading, hobbies, family interactions, and in-person social connections. By Day 5, students also reported changes related to feeling calm and present, connecting with others, and sleep.

“What stood out was not simply that students spent several days away from social media, but that they began noticing their own patterns and asking why they were reaching for their phones in the first place,” said LBHS School Counselor Alexis Mele. “That awareness gives students an opportunity to make more intentional choices about technology rather than having those choices made for them,” she concluded.

The white paper emphasizes that the Social Media Silence Challenge was a school-based pilot, not a controlled research study. Participation was voluntary, findings were largely self-reported, and the challenge lasted only five days. The results, therefore, are not intended to suggest that a short social media break will produce the same outcomes for every student. Instead, they provide an early look at what students discovered when given structured time to examine their digital habits.

LBHS plans to continue the challenge with two opportunities for students to participate each year while expanding participation, strengthening family engagement, and examining longer-term changes in screen time, phone use, sleep, focus, and well-being. The work will continue to center student voice and reflection as LBUSD explores approaches to healthy technology use and digital balance.

Read the full white paper: Social Media Silence Challenge: A Pilot Study on Digital Wellness, Attention, and Student Well-Being

To learn more about the Laguna Beach Unified School District, visit www.lbusd.org. Stay connected by following @LagunaBeachUSD on Instagram and subscribing to the district newsletter (www.lbusd.org/itsawrap) for the latest news and updates.