Can social media cause depression?

The use of social media is associated with an increased risk of depression, which varies depending on the age of the user and which media is mainly used, according to a new US scientific study. This is another study that links social networks and the likelihood of developing depressive symptoms. However, the research does not clarify the extent to which online platforms highlight or exacerbate pre-existing mental health problems that have not previously been brought to light. The researchers,led by Dr. Roy Perlis of Harvard University School of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital,  who published the study in the American Medical Journal JAMA Network Open, analyzed data of nearly 5,400 adults with an age of 56 years ( two-thirds were women), none of whom were even diagnosed with mild depression at the start of the study, in May 2020. But a year later, almost one in ten users (9%) had shown signs of depression. The risk increased with the use of three popular media: Snapchat, Facebook and TikTok. But there were age differences: the risk was higher for TikTok and Snapchat users over the age of 35, but not younger ones,  while the opposite was true for Facebook, where the risk of depression was higher for users under the age of 35 but not the older ones. “The relationship between social media and mental health has been the subject of intense debate,” Perlis said, noting that it is not clear, nor from the new research, whether social media itself cause depression. As he said, “one possible explanation is that people at high risk for depression, even if they do not yet have depression, are more likely to use social media. Another explanation is that social media really does increase the risk of developing depression”. Source: Athens Agency Recent Articles