Increased social media use can cause depression

Question

In recent years, there has been a link between social media and developing depression, especially in teens and young adults. Social media, such as Instagram and Facebook, make it easier for people to disconnect from the real world and look at the world through their phone lens. Personally, I find that when I use social media, I compare myself to people more frequently, and it oftentimes makes me overthink my own life.

Answer 1

I agree that there has been a link between social media and developing depression, especially in teens and young adults. Social media is an imposter acting as a pleasurable activity such as sport or friendly interactions. This is causing dopamine to be released when receiving a certain amount of likes on a post, story, reel, etc. The pressure young adults receive from social media is the perfect formula to developing depression.

 "The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression and even physical ailments" states, McLean Hospital. 

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health 

Rate: Not misinformation 

Answer 2

There seems to be a significant correlation between social media usage and depression. According to a research article regarding the association between social media use and depression, social media use was significantly associated with increased depression. The research article's authors surveyed 1,787 adults ages 19-32 about social media use and depression. To add on, the article mentions that social media can cause a person to have feelings of depression, and low self-esteem through the apps they decide to consume causing them to use social media even more. The results of the survey demonstrated significantly increased odds of depression. In conclusion, there is a strong and significant association between social media and depression.

The article mentioned: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22466

Answer 3

This is True.

The sources linked in the article are thorough and each end up leading to a reliable website. For example, in the paragraphs discussion Sleep Deprivation and depression, the website claims that "60 percent of adolescents are looking at their phones in the last hour before sleep". The source they credit this too is 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2333794X17736972

This source also has another thorough work cited page, and the information from the specific fact can be traced all the way to a specific book- and is cited as 

6. Smaldone A, Honig JC, Byrne MW. Sleepless in America: inadequate sleep and relationships to health and well-being of our nation’s children. Pediatrics. 2007;119(suppl 1):S29-S37

Overall all of the sources linked are easy to follow and each end up accrediting a trustworthy source, which makes this article true. 

Answer 4

Yes, social media has the tendency to cause depression, especially with increased use. According to WBIR,  Mental health experts say depression and feelings of hopelessness have skyrocketed among teens because of excessive social media use. In fact, research shows teenagers can spend almost ten hours a day on their phones.

Source: https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/10news-today/mental-health-and-screen-tiem-with-social-media/51-783be7a4-1263-42ad-b39e-ca3ee54d5f8d

Comments

What’s WBIR? Explicitly writing out your source would be helpful in case readers aren’t familiar with it. Thanks!

Answer 5

I found this statement to be true due to a couple of articles I found regarding this topic. According to Child Mind Institute, studies show a correlation, but not a causation between social media causing depression. Several studies discovered that teenage and young adult users who spend more time on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook were shown to have a higher rate of reported depression than those who spent less time on these sites. 

By using statistical evidence, McLean pulls evidence from the Pew Research Center that states that 69% of adults and 81% of teens in the United States use social media with increased feelings of anxiety, depression, or ill feelings over their social media use. To boost their self-esteem, they will post content that they hope will receive the most positive feedback.

Lastly, news site NBC pulled reports from after the COVID-19 pandemic, where nearly one-third of American adults reported feeling depressed, which was up 8.5% from the study before the pandemic. The respondents "who had minimal symptoms of depression early on were more likely to report an increase in symptoms in later surveys if they used social media."

Comments

Nice work providing several different strong sources.

Answer 6

Overall I do believe that there is a linkage between social media usage and deteriorating mental health especially with depression. There are many ways that social media leads to such a severe mental illness. One of the main reasons is comparison. Another reason is unhappiness with one's appearance. There are many more reasons as to why Social Media may trigger mental health issues. According to Help Guide, "Since it’s a relatively new technology, there’s little research to establish the long-term consequences, good or bad, of social media use. However, multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts."

In rising generations, depression levels are increasing. There are new problems such as FOMO arising within these generations according to McLean Hospital. The more one uses their phone the more likely they are going to spend time comparing themselves and self-deprecating themselves. This establishes a clear connection between social media usage and depression.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm#:~:text=Since%20it's%20a%20relatively%20new,harm%2C%20and%20even%20suicidal%20thoughts.

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Answer 7

This is true. According to Child Mind Institute: https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/

"A 2017 study of over half a million eighth through 12th graders found that the number exhibiting high levels of depressive symptoms increased by 33 percent between 2010 and 2015. In the same period, the suicide rate for girls in that age group increased by 65 percent."

"Another theory about the increase in depression is the loss of self-esteem, especially in teenage girls, when they compare themselves negatively with artfully curated images of those who appear to be prettier, thinner, more popular and richer."

It is proven through multiple studies that social media plays a role in causing depression. Through less social interaction, watching images of models, a decrease in productivity, all these things lead to depression. 

Comments

The 2017 study is about six years old now. I’m assuming there are even newer studies on this topic that have other interesting findings related to this topic?

Answer 8

This claim is true as time using the phone and being on social media, there are times where people feel at their worst. Social media can cause others to have low self esteem and certain post or images can cause users to feel some type of way. 

In this article I provide by BMC Psychology, they give that “On the other hand, several studies have pointed out the potentially detrimental effects of social media use on mental health. Concerns have been raised that social media may lead to body image dissatisfaction [6], increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement [5], contribute to phubbing behaviors [7], and negatively affects mood [8]. Excessive use has increased loneliness, fear of missing out, and decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction [8]. Users at risk of social media addiction often report depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem [9].” 

All of these points of how social media is effective towards people and how mental health can be a major concept of how it can be decline. There is different ways of how people can view certain post, but a vast major of users who can be effected negatively and depression can be developed.

Source: https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-023-01243-x#:~:text=The%20use%20of%20social%20media,essential%20to%20social%20media%20consumption.

Comments

Using an updated source -- from summer 2023 -- is a great way to prove a claim being factually accurate. A peer-reviewed journal is also a solid source. Nice work.

https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/

Answer 9

This is true! Social media use, especially in developing young people, can cause an increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to McLean Hospital's website, "The platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments." Social media is also addictive, which can keep people dependent on social media for happiness, even when it does the opposite.

Source:

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

Answer 10

This statement is true. Specifically in teens, the link between high social media usage directly correlates with high rate of not only depression, but also anxiety. According to McLean Hospital, "the platforms are designed to be addictive and are associated with anxiety, depression, and even physical ailments." Social media continues to give teens harmful standard resulting in low self esteem. It's also important to remember that while human crave social connections, social media is not a replacement for real life social interactions. Humans thrive off of other humans, but with the rise of social media people are becoming increasingly isolated resulting in too much alone time. 

https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm#:~:text=Since%20it%27s%20a%20relatively%20new,harm%2C%20and%20even%20suicidal%20thoughts.