The impact of frequent social internet consumption: increased procrastination and lower life satisfaction.
Abstract
Organizations are frequently turning to social Internet applications in an effort to form bonds with consumers. However, little research has addressed the impact of social Internet consumption on the individual. Two studies of regular social Internet consumers (i.e., users of Facebook and socially connected online games) examined the effects of prompted usage reduction or cessation upon participants. In both studies, participants benefitted on average during the reduction/cessation period, reporting increased life satisfaction and decreased procrastination. The Facebooker versus gamer factor had remarkably few effects (i.e., results generalized across these two groups). Implications are discussed for both consumers and organizations involved in social Internet activities. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Reduction in leisure-related Internet use results in decreased procrastination and increased life satisfaction.
“Intervention studies (Hinsch and Sheldon, 2013) have demonstrated that reduction in leisure-related Internet use results in decreased procrastination and increased life satisfaction.”
From How Study Environments Foster Academic Procrastination: Overview and Recommendations (2020) · cites this paper as Hinsch and Sheldon, 2013
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“Hinsch and Sheldon (2013) conducted two longitudinal studies in which they asked participants to reduce their social media use and tracked the change of procrastination over time, with results showing that a reduction of social media use decreased individuals’ procrastination. Though little attention has been given to…”
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“In contrast, previous research does not provide evidence or theoretical justification for an effect of satisfaction with life on the frequency of procrastination (cf., Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSkead, N., & Rogers, S. (2015) · International Journal of Law and Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2015.08.011 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Social network site use and university adjustment
Closson, L. M., & Bond, T. A. (2019) · Educational Psychology · doi:10.1080/01443410.2019.1618443 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“This finding is consistent with previous research on procrastination (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013; Lavoie & Pychyl, 2001; Steel, 2010), suggesting that people procrastinate to feel immediate stress relief.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialLi, Q., Xia, B., Zhang, H., Wang, W., & Wang, X. (2022) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.905699 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
“Also, cyberloafing is negatively correlated with subjective wellbeing (6), which can lead to depression (7).”
BackgroundSocial network use and life satisfaction: a systematic review
Akkaş, C., & Turan, A. H. (2024) · Mental Health and Social Inclusion · doi:10.1108/mhsi-03-2023-0037 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Hu, W., Ye, Z., & Zhang, Z. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.850802 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
“Besides, a longitudinal study showed that reduced Internet use would lead to a decrease in procrastination among university students (Hinsch and Sheldon, 2013).”
BackgroundChashmi, S. J. E., Hasani, J., Kuss, D. J., Griffiths, M. D., & Shahrajabian, F. (2022) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-022-03745-0 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Stress, Coping, and Social Media Use
Demirtepe-Saygılı, D. (2019) · Advances in psychology, mental health, and behavioral studies (APMHBS) book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-9412-3.ch010 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Therapeutic Interventions in the Treatment of Problematic Internet Use—Experiences from Germany
Dau, W., Hoffmann, J. D. G., & Banger, M. (2015) · Studies in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07242-5_12 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Analysis of Social Network Users' Online Behavior from the Perspective of Psychology
Qi, Y. A. O., Huawei, M. A., Huan, Y. A. N., & Chen, Q. (2014) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2014.01647 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Academic Procrastination of Adolescents: A Brief Review of the Literature
Xu, S. (2021) · Psychology and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.11648/j.pbs.20211006.12 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“For example, problematic smartphone and social media use, such as misusing Facebook, positively correlated with academic procrastination [121, 51].”
BackgroundDardara, E. A., & Al-Makhalid, K. A. M. (2022) · Anales de Psicología · doi:10.6018/analesps.462041 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Digital Detox Research: An Analysis of Applied Methods and Implications for Future Studies
Hager, N., Stangl, F. J., & Riedl, R. (2025) · Lecture notes in information systems and organisation · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-80119-8_23 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
People Tend to Wind Down, Not Up, When They Browse Social Media
Panger, G. (2018) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3274402 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“Although they involve brief timeframes in comparison to Burke’s month-long intervals between survey waves, several studies do suggest Facebook use as a whole may be detrimental to emotional and other forms of well-being [43, 50, 69, 79].”
BackgroundSavaş, B. Ç., TURAN, M., & Asan, S. (2025) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-025-03510-5 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
“Hinsch and Sheldon [130] reported that when social internet use was reduced, participants generally benefited, their life satisfaction increased, and their academic procrastination tendencies decreased.”
Contingency management for smartphone and social media use: a feasibility study
Stanley, T. B., Correia, C. J., & Irons, J. G. (2022) · Addiction Research & Theory · doi:10.1080/16066359.2022.2038140 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“Conversely, several studies have identified positive or neutral effects of reduced of SM or smartphone use on a range of physical and psychosocial outcomes (Hinsch and Sheldon 2013; Stieger and Lewetz 2018; Turel et al. 2018; Vanman et al. 2018; Hall et al. 2021).”
BackgroundStangl, F. J., & Riedl, R. (2024) · Lecture notes in information systems and organisation · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-58396-4_10 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
The anti‐consumption journey: Unplugging for improved well‐being
Anderson, K. C., Wallach, K. A., & Grimes, M. (2024) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.2390 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“The post-detox experience has shown mixed outcomes for participants, ranging from positive ones, such as decreased procrastination (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013) and reduced loneliness (Hunt et al., 2018), to more negative byproducts, such as decreased life satisfaction (Vanman et al., 2018) and…”
THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RADICAL INNOVATION IN THE NEW DIGITAL AGE
Fischer, D., PRASUHN, J., Strese, S., & Brettel, M. (2021) · International Journal of Innovation Management · doi:10.1142/s1363919621500754 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Atasever, A. N., Çelik, L., & Eroğlu, Y. (2022) · Participatory Educational Research · doi:10.17275/per.23.2.10.1 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
“In a longitudinal study (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013) conducted with university students who regularly use the internet for social purposes (Facebook and playing games), it was found that because of decreasing internet use, their life satisfaction increased, and procrastination behaviors decreased.”
BackgroundResultLee, S., Jeong, J.-H., Kim, M., Lee, S., Kim, S.-P., & Jung, D. (2025) · JMIR mhealth and uhealth · doi:10.2196/53133 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Social Media—The Emotional and Mental Roller-Coaster of Gen Z: An Empirical Study
Kannan, L., & Kumar, T. P. (2022) · Palgrave studies in democracy, innovation, and entrepreneurship for growth · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79709-6_4 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Lardinoix, J., Neumann, I., Wartberg, L., & Lindenberg, K. (2023) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare11091274 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
“In several studies [17,18,51,52] it has been reported that Internet applications, such as social media, or binge-watching television series are often used for procrastination.”
BackgroundMcCauley, B., Merola, G. M., & Gumbley, S. (2017) · International Journal of E-Business Research · doi:10.4018/ijebr.2017100103 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Stress, Coping, and Social Media Use
Demirtepe-Saygılı, D. (2022) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-5594-4.ch053 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Khalifa, A. G. (2021) · Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment · doi:10.6000/2292-2598.2021.09.04.4 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Balkıs, M., & Duru, E. (2024) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941241253588 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Many studies in the literature emphasize the effects of culture on pro-crastination (Ç ı kr ı kç ı & Erzen, 2016) and subjective well-being (Tesch-R¨omer et al., 2008).”
InfluentialEffects of Reduced and Altered Use of Social Networking Sites— A Randomized Controlled Study
Wolgast, M., Lundberg, K., Palmqvist, E., & Wolgast, S. N. (2023) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2023.42.6.558 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Striving for identity goals by self-symbolizing on Instagram
Sciara, S., Contu, F., Regalia, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2023) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-023-10039-w · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“The discovery that social media can be used to compensate for incompleteness in identity goal pursuits may help to explain and predict some specific consequences of social media use, such as procrastination (e.g., Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013 ).”
BackgroundTime Well Wasted? Online Procrastination During Times of Unemployment
Müller, S., Fieseler, C., Meckel, M., & Suphan, A. (2017) · Social Science Computer Review · doi:10.1177/0894439317715716 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Feelings of guilt, in turn, have been reported to frequently reduce recovery experience, media enjoyment, and overall well-being after media use (Hinsch & Sheldon, 2013; Meier et al., 2016a; Meier, Reinecke, & Meltzer, 2016; Reinecke & Hofmann, 2016).”
BackgroundMethodSocial media mirage-the two actual selves of an individual: Conceptualization and scale development
Sharma, R., Sharma, M., & Joshi, S. (2024) · Technological forecasting & social change · doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123502 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The battle against screen time: a systematic review of hedonic information systems use reduction
Nascimento, P., Oliveira, T., & Neves, J. (2024) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-10-2023-0857 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Seydooğulları, S. Ü., Uğur, E., Tanhan, A., & Genç, E. (2023) · Yaşadıkça Eğitim · doi:10.33308/26674874.2023371439 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Sende, C., Souček, R., & Ebner, K. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100619 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Understanding Social Media Addiction Through Personal, Social, and Situational Factors
Kirezli, Ö., & Aydın, A. E. (2020) · Advances in social networking and online communities book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-4718-2.ch009 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Digital Disconnection and Portuguese Youth: Motivations, Strategies, and Well-Being Outcomes
Dias, P., Martinho, L. C.-V., & Jorge, A. (2023) · Comunicação e Sociedade · doi:10.17231/comsoc.44(2023).4466 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“In fact, Hinsch and Sheldon (2013) had already found that taking short breaks from digital media decreased procrastination, which, in turn, increased life satisfaction — and, thus, well-being.”
BackgroundInternet Gaming Disorder and Mental Health of Children in China: A Latent Profile Analysis
Ahmed, M. Z., Ahmed, O., Gao, L., Jobe, M. C., & Li, W. (2024) · International Journal of Mental Health Promotion · doi:10.32604/ijmhp.2024.051055 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Hinsch et al. [76] found in their experimental study that a decrease in gaming helps to enhance and boost life satisfaction.”
Therapeutic Interventions for Treatment of Adolescent Internet Addiction—Experiences from Germany
Dau, W., Hoffmann, J. D. G., & Banger, M. (2017) · Studies in neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46276-9_16 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Bozkurt, H. Ö. (2020) · Turk Turizm Arastirmalari Dergisi · doi:10.26677/tr1010.2020.504 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Yılmaz, M., & Tekin, Ö. E. (2023) · International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies · doi:10.52380/ijpes.2023.10.1.946 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Liu, G. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04375-w · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Cerniglia, L. (2019) · International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology Revista INFAD de psicología · doi:10.17060/ijodaep.2019.n1.v1.1382 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The Social Construction of Technology
Hall, J. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108629935.003 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Passive Facebook use and students’ academic stress: The moderating role of authenticity
Kim, M., Poncy, G., & Lopez, F. G. (2022) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2047704 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Of note, other investigators have similarly conjectured that, when used as a means to procrastinate, time spent on FB may contribute to lower life satisfaction 72 and higher academic stress.”
BackgroundDruzhba, O., & Георгиевна, О. Л. (2022) · E3S Web of Conferences · doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202236304052 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Особенности использования социальных сетей в связи с прокрастинацией и саморегуляцией
Корниенко, Д., & Александровна, Р. Н. (2018) · Психологические исследования · doi:10.54359/ps.v11i59.284 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Understanding Social Media Addiction Through Personal, Social, and Situational Factors
Kirezli, Ö., & Aydın, A. E. (2022) · IGI Global eBooks · doi:10.4018/978-1-6684-6307-9.ch051 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Xu, J., & Li, B. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1831460 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Similarly, adult samples suggest mutual facilitation between procrastination and problematic new media use (63).”
Hall, J. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108629935.010 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mode Comparison and Coexistence
Hall, J. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108629935.006 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hinsch, C., & Sheldon, K. M.
- Affiliations
- Grand Valley State University (US)
- University of Missouri (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hinsch, Christian
- ORCID
- Sheldon, Kennon M.
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Behaviour
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-11
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 496-505
- ISSN
- 1472-0817 (ISSN-L)
- 1479-1838
- OpenAlex
- W1886186154
- Cited by
- 135
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 9.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consumer Behaviour (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Demography › Cyberloafing and Workplace Behavior
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Keywords
- procrastination, life satisfaction, Facebook use, online games, social media use, consumer well-being, social media marketing
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