Study Links Social Media Use With Increased Risk Of Depression

The latest in a spate of studies investigating links between the use of social media and depression suggests the two go hand in hand.

“The relationship between social media and mental health has been the subject of a lot of debate,” said Dr Roy Perlis, lead author of the new study.

He’s director of the Center for Experimental Drugs and Diagnostics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

On one hand, social media is a way for people to stay connected to a larger community and get information about things that interest them, Perlis noted.

But on the other hand, even before widespread misinformation on these platforms was recognized, there was a sense that young people might be negatively affected.

The new study follows a year-long look at social media use and the onset of depression among nearly 5,400 adults. None reported even mild depression at the start.

But in multiple surveys over 12 months, depression status had worsened in some respondents, the study found. The risk rose with the use of three hugely popular social media sites: Snapchat, Facebook and TikTok.

As to whether social media actually causes depression, Perlis said it’s unclear which is the chicken and which is the egg.

“One possible explanation for our results,” he noted, “is that people who are at risk for depression, even if they’re not currently depressed, are more likely to use social media. Another is that social media actually contributes to that increased risk.”

But this study wasn’t designed to distinguish between the two, he said.

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