Extreme use of social media might be linked to growing melancholy, suggests a examine, Way of life Information

A significantly increased use of social media among adolescents can lead to the development of depression within six months, according to the results of a new study. Young adults who made increased use of social media were significantly more likely to develop depression within six months, according to a new study nationally.

The study was conducted by Dr. Brian Primack, Dean of the College of Education and Health Professions and Professor of Public Health at the University of Arkansas. Compared to participants who used social media for less than 120 minutes a day, such as young adults who used more than 300 minutes a day, the likelihood of becoming depressed within six months was 2.8 times higher.

The study, which will be published online on Dec. 10 and slated for the February 2021 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first major national study to show an association between social media use and depression over time. “Most of the previous work in this area has asked us the chicken and egg question,” Primack said.

“We know from other large studies that depression and social media users tend to go together, but it was hard to pinpoint which came first. This new study sheds light on these questions as high initial social media usage results in an increased rate of caused depression. However, the initial depression did not change the way people used social media, ”added Primack. In 2018, Primack and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 30.

They measured depression using the validated nine item patient health questionnaire and asked participants how long they had used social media on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and SnapChat. Their analyzes were checked for demographics such as age, gender and race, education, income, and employment, and included survey weights so that the results would reflect the larger US population.

“One reason for these results could be that social media is consuming a lot of time,” said Dr. Cesar Escobar-Viera, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of the study. “Excessive time on social media can crowd out more important personal relationships, accomplish personal or professional goals, or just have moments of valuable reflection,” added Escobar-Viera.

The authors suggest that these results could also be based on a social comparison: “Social media is often curated to highlight positive representations,” said Jaime Sidani, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of the study This Is Difficult for Youngsters Adults who are at critical points in their life related to identity development who feel they cannot live up to the impossible ideals they face, “added Sidani. The results are particularly significant as recently Depression has been reported to the World Health Organization, the world’s leading cause of disability, leading to more years of disabled life than any other mental health condition. “These findings are especially important at the age of COVID-19,” Primack said We all use me to network personally and socially hr technologies like social media.

While I think these technologies can certainly be valuable, I also want to encourage people to think about which technical experiences are really useful to them and which ones they leave blank, “added Primack.