News-Medical.Net January 20, 2026
What effect does it have on our well-being when we put our smartphones aside for a while or otherwise disconnect from digital media? Alicia Gilbert, a research associate at the Department of Communication at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), together with two colleagues from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), examined this question. The results of their study were published in the academic journal Communication Research.
Participants who were offline more often than usual reported more positive effects, felt more energetic and more connected to others. However, these changes were relatively small and tended to dissipate after two to three hours. At the same time, we found no association between digital disconnection and perceived stress.”
Observational approach instead of interventional study...
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