GOOD Morning America host Dr. Jen Ashton has motivated her co-workers to make a drastic lifestyle change with their phone usage as she considers doing away with all social media.
The physician and correspondent revealed she was thinking about the major change during a Tuesday GMA3 segment about improving mental health.
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During the segment, Jen referred to a study recently published by the American Psychological Foundation and the journal Psychology of Popular Media.
The study found that people who reduce social media usage have a “significant improvement in how they regard both their overall appearance and body weight,” regardless of gender.
“They looked at people 17 to 25 years of age, about 200 of them. [They] gave one group unlimited social media access, the other one restricted to one hour a day,” Jen detailed, adding that some might even argue that one hour is “a lot.”
She added: “The group that was restricted to one hour a day after several weeks, expressed a 50 percent improvement in their–in their subjective feelings of mental wellness, so less anxiety, you know, improved sense of body image. This is not the first study that’s shown this.”
Jen noted that as a mother of children in this age group, even her own kids have said they believe social media is “detrimental to their mental health.”
The GMA host then indicated that she has started to remove herself from social media.
One of her colleagues, Rhiannon Ally, chimed in saying that she was unable to tag Jen in a Twitter post.
“I’ve deleted my Twitter account, deleted TikTok,” Jenn said.
“You and I talk about this all the time, you’re barely on Instagram,” Rhiannon added.
“Because of you, you actually motivated me. I’ve been down to 30 minutes a day,” she told Jen.
“Drop that time to five minutes and see how you feel,” the physician continued.
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“But be curious with yourself and whether or not you see a connection in your mood. Because this is not just young adults. It’s adults of all ages. And as I said, you know, we’re not even fully aware of the changes in our psychological processes that can go on with social media.”
Jen then went on to make a bold announcement, saying she is thinking about removing herself from social media completely.
“I may – may completely go off the grid.”
Dozens of fans flooded the comment section of a clip of the segment posted to Instagram, urging Jen to stay active on social media.
“I would miss seeing your posts. For me it’s my social interaction,” one user wrote.
“Yes there is a lot of negativity… but there is good as well.”
“Dr. Jen, please don’t leave Instagram,” another simply said.
“Anything to excess is not healthy. I feel going totally off the grid is also excessive,” one person commented.
Another person chimed in saying, “Noooo! Not Instagram! We love your posts!” using a heart emoji.
There were also several social media users who agreed with her proposal to get off the grid.
“Dr. Jen knows best. I agree with her! Social media can be very negative,” one user commented.
“I’m considering going off the grid as well. Instagram is on a trial basis for me. If Dr. Jen leaves Instagram, I’m likely going, too,” another said.
“Agree!! Life is busy enough! Balance is key to everything!!” another wrote.
“Bravo to you Dr. J…congrats if you do!!! Change the world, one deleted phone at a time,” a fourth added.
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