Social Media Use Increases Depression and Loneliness, Study Finds
Does Social Media Cause Depression? A New Study Suggests It Might Make Symptoms Worse
Cutting down social media use can reduce depression, loneliness
Study Links Social Media to Depression, Loneliness
University of Pennsylvania researchers say that for the first time they have linked social media use to increases in depression and loneliness.
The idea that social media is anything but social when it comes to mental health has been talked about for years, but not many studies have managed to actually link the two.
To do that, Penn researchers, led by psychologist Melissa Hunt, designed a study that focused on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram.
The results were published in the November issue of the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
Social Media Use Increases Depression and Loneliness, Study Finds
Snippets:
November 8, 2018
….”Here’s the bottom line,” she says. “Using less social media than you normally would leads to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness. These effects are particularly pronounced for folks who were more depressed when they came into the study.”
Hunt stresses that the findings do not suggest that 18- to 22-year-olds should stop using social media altogether. In fact, she built the study as she did to stay away from what she considers an unrealistic goal. The work does, however, speak to the idea that limiting screen time on these apps couldn’t hurt.
“It is a little ironic that reducing your use of social media actually makes you feel less lonely,” she says. But when she digs a little deeper, the findings make sense. “Some of the existing literature on social media suggests there’s an enormous amount of social comparison that happens. When you look at other people’s lives, particularly on Instagram, it’s easy to conclude that everyone else’s life is cooler or better than yours.”
…[What are the benefits of reducing time spent on social media?] For one, reduce opportunities for social comparison, she says. “When you’re not busy getting sucked into clickbait social media, you’re actually spending more time on things that are more likely to make you feel better about your life.”
Secondly, she adds, because these tools are here to stay, it’s incumbent on society to figure out how to use them in a way that limits damaging effects. “In general, I would say, put your phone down and be with the people in your life.”
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