Protégé Effect for Behavior Change: Does Teaching Digital Stress Solutions to Others Reduce One's Own?

The protégé effect suggests that individuals learn a subject more effectively when they teach it to others. Can we therefore assume that when individuals with a problematic behavior teach others about it and how to manage it, they become more likely to reduce and better manage that behavior themselves? We address this question by evaluating a protégé-based approach to reducing and managing digital stress (DS). Over 3 weeks, 137 participants with moderate-high DS were assigned to four groups. Two groups followed a protégé-based approach: a passive group, given materials to teach, and an active group, given headlines and required to search for and prepare teaching content. Both groups completed three sessions, each focusing on one DS dimension: availability stress, approval anxiety, and fear of missing out. A digital literacy group received content and quizzes, alongside a control group. Outcomes included DS levels, problematic social media use, word of mouth, and issue involvement. Results showed no significant differences between groups. The findings highlight the difficulty of translating cognitive engagement into behavioral change. This study contributes empirical evidence to the digital well-being literature by illustrating the challenges of enhancing digital well-being, potentially due to persistent digital habits and socially reinforced stressors.