Primary outcomes focus on anxiety and depression, while secondary analyses track sleep, bullying, time with family and friends, and social comparison effects.

To capture group dynamics, all students within a given year in a school will experience the same intervention.

Experts say the findings could inform policy in the UK and beyond, given the lack of large-scale experimental data on reducing time spent on social media for under-18s.

A UK-led IRL (In Real Life) trial at Cambridge will test whether restricting adolescents’ social media use can improve mental health and wellbeing, marking a world-first experimental investigation.

The study will involve about 4,000 Bradford pupils aged 12 to 15, assigning a daily time limit for apps and enforcing a 21:00–07:00 social media curfew to see if reduced use affects anxiety, depression, sleep, and social experiences.

Professor Amy Orben of Cambridge is leading the project, with Dr. Dan Lewer and collaborators from the Bradford Centre for Health Data Science; the trial is funded by Wellcome Trust.

Experts say the goal is to balance online safety with wellbeing, seeking interventions beyond simple bans to support healthy development.

Feasibility runs in spring/summer 2026 will precede a six-week full study in autumn/winter 2026, with data analysis targeted for mid-2027 and publication in major journals.

The trial will assess a broad range of apps—TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn—and exclude WhatsApp to preserve family communication.

Results are planned for summer and will be independent of the UK government’s consultation on a potential under-16s social media ban.

Participants will be compared to a control group using social media normally, with six weeks of observation to establish baseline and outcome differences.

The study will measure shifts in anxiety, depression, sleep quality, social interactions, wellbeing, and related factors to gauge social media’s impact.