Budapest - Feeling less connected to one’s own body, paying less attention to physical sensations, and experiencing a sense of distance from embodied experience: problematic use of social media does not only affect mood or attention spans. Over time, it may also foster a detachment from the body itself.

This is one of the key findings of a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, titled “A 2-wave study on the associations between dissociative experiences, maladaptive daydreaming, bodily dissociation, and problematic social media use.” The research was conducted by Silvia Casale of the University of Florence, Simon Ghinassi of the University of Pisa, and Jon D. Elhai of the University of Toledo in the United States.

The study followed 216 Italian university students aged between 18 and 33 over two separate periods, four months apart, between 2023 and 2024. More than half of the participants reported spending at least two hours a day on social media. Instagram emerged as the most widely used platform, followed by TikTok, with X and Reddit playing a more marginal role.

“What this research clarifies for the first time is the direction of the relationship between bodily dissociation and problematic social media use,” explains Simon Ghinassi. “Our findings suggest that feeling disconnected from one’s body does not lead people to lose control over their social media use. Rather, the opposite seems to happen. Compulsive use of so-called appearance-based platforms, such as Instagram, may over time increase feelings of detachment from the body.”

According to Silvia Casale, the design and logic of social media platforms play a central role in this process. “These platforms are built around editing and manipulating images of oneself,” she explains. “They encourage users to present a modified version of their body, to temporarily identify with an idealized image, and at the same time to observe themselves from an external point of view, almost as if they were spectators of their own lives. Over time, this third-person perspective can promote bodily detachment and dissociative experiences.”

The study also highlights another potential side effect of problematic social media use: an increased tendency toward immersive fantasy at the expense of engagement with the real world. This phenomenon, known as imaginative absorption, involves becoming deeply engrossed in internal fantasies while losing awareness of one’s surroundings.

In both cases, the researchers emphasize the importance of promoting a more mindful and conscious use of social media,  one that takes into account not only psychological well-being, but also the relationship between digital habits, bodily awareness and lived experience.