Yes—some screen-based activities may support well-being or reduce anxiety and stress, but the benefit depends on what you do, why you use it, and what outcome a study measured. Structured digital programs for exercise, sleep, diet, mindfulness, or cognitive behavioral techniques have more encouraging evidence than ordinary browsing. Casual games are a promising but early area of study, while research on social media is mixed. None of these findings proves that screen time in general is therapeutic or that a particular app or game can replace mental-health care.
Why the kind of screen activity matters
“Screen time” groups together very different experiences: following a guided wellness program, playing a casual game, messaging a friend, and scrolling a feed are not equivalent activities. Studies also differ in who took part, how long an intervention lasted, and whether researchers measured anxiety, stress, mood, well-being, or biological markers.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
That distinction helps explain why research can find benefits both from structured digital interventions and from reducing recreational screen use. In the first case, the screen delivers a specific program; in the second, participants cut back on recreational use. Neither result establishes that screens themselves are inherently helpful or harmful.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Which digital activities have evidence of potential benefits?
Structured lifestyle programs
A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in the Journal of Medical Internet Research pooled 61 randomized trials in adults. The programs were delivered digitally and addressed physical activity, sleep, or diet; they were not tests of ordinary screen exposure. The review reported small pooled effects on anxiety (standardized mean difference, or SMD, −0.29) and stress (SMD −0.17), and a small-to-medium effect on depression (SMD −0.37). The pooled well-being effect was not statistically significant (SMD 0.14, P=.15). The trials covered publications from January 2013 through January 2023, so these figures describe the reviewed interventions, not every current app or service. Read the review.
#1 Best Overall
Guided mobile wellness activities for young people
A systematic review and three-level meta-analysis of mobile interventions for youth reported benefits across psychosocial outcomes. Commonly studied approaches included cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based, mindfulness-based, and acceptance-based activities. These were interventions designed to support wellness or mental health, not evidence that general phone use improves young people’s mental health. Read the review.
Casual videogames
Casual games are a less established possibility. A 2020 systematic review by Russell Pine, Theresa Fleming, Simon McCallum, and Kylie Sutcliffe covered 13 studies involving nine games. The authors concluded that “CVGs may have promise for treating anxiety, depression, stress, and low mood.” That is a cautious conclusion about an early and small body of research—not proof that any specific commercial game treats a mental-health condition. Read the review.
What social-media research says—and does not say
A 2024 meta-analysis in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication examined 141 studies, about 145,000 people, and 897 effect sizes. Most associations between social-media use and outcomes were negligible. Active use was associated in the pooled findings with both greater well-being and greater anxiety symptoms. These small associations do not show that posting causes either outcome, or that passive browsing invariably harms well-being while active use invariably helps. Read the meta-analysis.
Recommended Free Tools
In practice, whether social media feels useful may depend on the person and the activity—for example, whether they are connecting with others or using the platform habitually. The available pooled results do not support a simple active-good, passive-bad rule.
Can putting down a smartphone improve mood?
It can help some people in some circumstances, but the evidence here comes from specific, short interventions rather than a universal rule. In a cluster randomized trial in Denmark, 89 families (164 adults) were asked to reduce recreational screen use to less than three hours per week per person for two weeks. The adults assigned to the intervention reported greater improvements in well-being and mood than controls. Salivary cortisol and cortisone measurements showed no intervention effects. The participants were healthy young and middle-aged adults, and the results do not show that every screen activity increases stress. Read the trial.
A separate preregistered experiment followed 338 Gen Z participants for eight days. The group restricting smartphone and digital-media use reported multiple benefits, while the group restricting social media showed fewer benefits and some potential costs. This is one brief experiment, so it cannot settle what restriction will do for other ages, people, or time periods. Read the experiment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose a screen activity for stress relief
If you want to use a digital activity as part of a wellness routine, focus on its purpose and content rather than the screen alone:
Quick Recap
- Look for a defined activity. A guided exercise, sleep or diet program, mindfulness practice, or CBT-style activity is closer to the interventions studied than unstructured browsing.
- Notice the effect on you. Pay attention to whether the activity leaves you calmer, more connected, or more agitated. Research averages cannot predict every individual response.
- Set a boundary around habitual use. If recreational use is displacing sleep or other routines, a planned limit may be worth trying. The Danish trial used an intensive limit, so its results should not be treated as a guarantee that the same target suits everyone.
- Keep claims in proportion. Evidence about a category of intervention does not validate every commercial app, game, or device.
- Seek appropriate care when needed. A digital wellness activity is not established by these studies as a substitute for qualified mental-health care.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
