Depression and Social Media

Depression is a mental illness that can affect the way one feels,acts and thinks(“What Is Depression?,” n.d.). Depression can cause sadness and a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable(“What Is Depression?,” n.d.). Depression has factors that may play role in the disorder(“What Is Depression?,” n.d.). These risk factors include biochemistry, genetics, personality and environmental factors(“What Is Depression?,” n.d.). After learning about depression I was interested to learn if social media may be a risk factor(“What Is Depression?,” n.d.).

One study set out to examine the relationship between social networking sites addiction and depression(Wang et al., 2018). The sample size was 365 Chinese adolescents, and they were tested on self-esteem,depression, rumination, and SNS addiction(Wang et al., 2018). It was determined that there was a positive association between SNS and depression(Wang et al., 2018). An adolescents self-esteem appeared to be the intermediary between rumination and depression(Wang et al., 2018). The effect of rumination and depression was higher in adolescents that had lower self esteem(Wang et al., 2018).

Overall it appears that social media can have an impact on an adolescents depression. It is important to regulate time spent on social media for the mental health. Especially for adolescents with low self-esteem for time on social media may lead to depression(Wang et al., 2018).

References

What Is Depression? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

Wang, P., Wang, X., Wu, Y., Xie, X., Wang, X., Zhao, F., … Lei, L. (2018). Social networking sites addiction and adolescent depression: A moderated mediation model of rumination and self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 127. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.008

1 comment

  1. Temeka M Lytle

    As social media continues to take over the lives of many, I’m sure there will be many studies showing its long-term effects. I am not shocked by the results showing a relationship between adolescent depression and social media usage. Social media does not realistically portray anyone’s life. The disappointments, hard times, and failures are never shown. However, the good times, vacations, and successes are highlighted. It is important to teach adolescents how to properly measure their self-worth. Too often humans rate their own lives by comparing how they perceive others are living. Nevertheless, just as more research exposes the negative effects, I believe the positive influence of social media will also be discovered.

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