Social Anxiety and Depression Could Be Triggered by Social Media
What is the impact of social networks on mental health?
Is the use of social networks making our youth unhappy and excessively anxious? There is growing evidence that there is a link between social media and depression. In several recent studies, teen and young adult users who spent the most time on Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms showed a substantially higher rate of depression (13 to 66%) than those who spent less time according to research published by Lin and colleagues (2016) where they analyzed the association between social media use and depression among U.S. Young Adults.
Does that mean Instagram, for example, is actually causing depression? Not necessarily. These studies show correlation, not causality. But it’s worth looking seriously at how social networking may be negatively affecting teens and young adults. One reason the correlation seems more than coincidental is that an increase in depression occurred in conjunction with increased smartphone use.
Undoubtedly, social networks have both positive and negative effects. This topic has been widely discussed by the British Royal Society for Public Health, where they analyze possible positive and negative impacts of social networks.
