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Social Media Silence Challenge: A Pilot Study on Digital Wellness, Attention, and Student Well-Being
Laguna Beach High School | Laguna Beach Unified School District
Academic Year: 2025–2026
Executive Summary
The Social Media Silence Challenge began with a simple question: What would students notice if they stepped away from social media for one week?
The Laguna Beach High School counseling team developed this voluntary digital wellness initiative in response to ongoing conversations with students about distraction, stress, screen time, sleep, and the pressure to “always be connected.” Rather than adding to the stream of adults talking at students about whether social media is “good” or “bad,” the team sought to give students space to step back, examine their own habits, and feel empowered to make confident, thoughtful decisions about how social media fits into their lives.
Across two cohorts during the 2025–26 school year, participating students took a five-day break from social media while completing pre- and post-challenge surveys, daily reflection journals, and facilitated group discussions.
Key Findings
- 52% decrease in students reporting pressure to stay constantly connected
- 42% decrease in students reporting that they multitasked between schoolwork and social media
- 41% decrease in students reporting social comparison on social media
- 61% decrease in students reporting urges to check their phones from Day 1 to Day 5
The most meaningful outcomes extended beyond reduced screen time. Students gained greater insight into their habits, becoming increasingly aware of when they reached for social media, why they reached for it, and what they chose to do instead of scrolling.
“The craziest thing for me is how my body naturally reaches for my phone when I’m not doing anything.”
Background & Program Design
Social media is integral to how teenagers communicate, express themselves, and stay connected in the world today. At the same time, students regularly tell us about the challenges that come with being constantly connected.
At LBHS, Challenge Success survey data and student feedback highlighted concerns related to distraction, multitasking, sleep, social comparison, and the pressure to stay connected.
Current LBHS Data
- 85% of students report keeping their phone in their bedroom when they go to sleep.
- 27.8% of students report using Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or other social platforms while completing homework.
The Social Media Silence Challenge gave students an opportunity to take a break from social media and reflect on the resulting impact. The initiative also supports our district LCAP Goal #2, including social-emotional competencies, student agency, positive identity, and broader district priorities around student wellness.
How the Challenge Worked
Students in grades 9 - 12 voluntarily signed up to take a five-day break from social media by deleting their social media apps for this one week. The challenge included:
- Anonymous pre/post surveys
- Daily reflection journals
- Pre/post student interviews
- Guided group reflection
- Counseling team support
Students were asked to notice changes in their phone habits, focus, mood, stress, sleep, productivity, boredom, and connection with others. The challenge required minimal financial investment and was intentionally designed to be voluntary, reflective, and student-centered.
Evidence & Results
Pre/Post Survey Findings
Survey results showed changes in several areas related to attention, stress, and social media habits.
| Students Reported | Change |
|---|---|
| Pressure to stay constantly connected | ↓ 52% |
| Multitasking between schoolwork and social media | ↓ 42% |
| Online social comparison | ↓ 41% |
| Social media-related anxiety | ↓ 27% |
| Using social media to avoid difficult emotions | ↓ 14.5% |
| Attention/notification-related distraction | 20%+ improvement |
The daily journals provided another important measure for reflection. 69% of students reported an urge to check their phone or social media on Day 1. By Day 5, that number had fallen to 27%, a 61% reduction.
What Happened Over Five Days?
The reflection journals allowed us to see something a pre/post survey alone could not: how students adjusted throughout the week.
Days 1 - 2 | Habit & Discomfort
Early reflections uncovered automatic behaviors. Students described unlocking phones without thinking, reaching for deleted apps, feeling bored, and missing the easy distraction of scrolling.
- 69% reported urges to check their phone/social media
- 65% reached for their phone out of habit
- 38% felt bored or restless
“I kept unlocking my phone and clicking the spot where my Instagram was."
Some students also realized that scrolling served a purpose beyond entertainment.
“I didn’t have anything to completely distract me from my thoughts.”
This was an important reminder that changing a digital habit also means understanding what purpose that habit may be serving.
Days 2 - 3 | Awareness & Adaptation
By midweek, students were still thinking about social media, but they were beginning to recognize their patterns and find alternatives.
Students described starting homework sooner, reading, exercising, spending time outside, trying hobbies, calling friends, and spending more time with family.
“I kept wanting TikTok even when I wasn’t bored, which made me realize it’s more of an automatic routine than a decision.”
Students were beginning to move from simply missing social media to understanding their relationship with it.
Days 4 - 5 | Presence & Choice
By the end of the week, many students described the experience as feeling more natural.
| What Students Noticed | Day 1 |
Day 5 |
|---|---|---|
|
Urge to check phone/social media |
69% |
27% |
| Reached for phone out of habit | 65% | 23% |
| Bored/restless | 38% | 19% |
| Calmer/more present | 23% | 50% |
| More connected with others | 42% | 65% |
| Better sleep | 15% | 31% |
“At the beginning of this challenge, I had to control myself every time I thought about social media, but now I feel like I am naturally without my phone.”
What Students Discovered
Across the journals and interviews, four themes stood out.
- Social Media Use Is Often Automatic
- Students were surprised by how frequently they reached for their phones without consciously deciding to.
- “I realized how automatic my phone habits are.”
- Scrolling Can Serve an Emotional Purpose
- Students described reaching for social media when they were bored, stressed, sad, or simply wanted a mental break. For some, removing that distraction initially increased discomfort.
- “I use social media to distract myself from my thoughts.”
- This was an important finding for us as the LBHS Counseling Team: understanding why a student uses social media may be just as important as understanding how much they use it.
- Students Found Time They Didn't Realize They Had
- Students repeatedly described finishing homework earlier, procrastinating less, exercising, reading, trying hobbies, sleeping more, and spending time with others.
- “This past week I have gotten all of my homework done so I can go into the weekend stress-free and feeling accomplished.
- Connection Changed
- Some students missed knowing what friends were doing or communicating through social media. At the same time, many described more meaningful in-person interactions.
- “My mom said I became more focused and talkative... We shared things we never talked about before, and this made me feel more connected.”
Together, the reflections showed a general progression: Awareness created an opportunity for choice.
Implications for Schools
The Social Media Silence suggests that digital wellness does not have to begin with restriction.
Schools can create opportunities for students to notice, reflect, experiment, and make informed choices about technology.
Rather than only asking, “How do we get students off their phones?” we can also ask:
“How do we help students understand their relationship with technology?”
Questions worth exploring with students include:
- When am I reaching for my phone?
- Why am I opening this app?
- What am I looking for right now?
- Is this helping me?
- What am I giving up when I choose to scroll?
- What boundaries work for me?
The Social Media Silence provides one possible model. It is voluntary, low-cost, reflection-based, student-centered, and adaptable to different school communities.
Limitations & Next Steps
The Social Media Silence was a school-based pilot, not a controlled research study. Participation was voluntary, findings were largely self-reported, the challenge lasted only five days, and students entered the experience with different levels of social media use and different personal circumstances.
The findings should therefore not be interpreted as evidence that a five-day social media break will produce the same outcomes for every student. Instead, they provide a meaningful look at what students noticed when given an intentional opportunity to step away.
Future work will focus on:
- Offering two opportunities a year for students to participate in the challenge
- Expanding participation across grade levels
- Strengthening family engagement
- Examining longer-term behavior changes
- Tracking screen time, phone pickups, sleep, focus, and well-being
- Continuing to center student voice and reflection
- Expand student voice regarding the impact of the Social Media Silence to spread awareness of outcomes across the student population
The central goal will remain the same: help students understand their relationship with technology well enough to make intentional choices about it.
Key Takeaway
In just five days, students became more aware of how social media affects them. That awareness gave them something more valuable than a week without scrolling - it gave them greater agency over what happens next.
Program Leads
Alexis Mele, School Counselor
amele@lbusd.org
Megan Humphreys, School Social Worker
mhumphreys@lbusd.org