Social Media Driving Depression In Children?

Knowing how the lives of teens and pre-teens can be quite stressful, particularly when it comes to their social lives, is it really any surprise when it turns out that social media can make it worse and lead to more depression amongst kids? The revelation isn’t much of a surprise to me.

I don’t know how many times I have stated either here on the pages of WP or in comments to other posts that social media is an addiction, one that paints false pictures about real life. What we see on social media is rarely as good or rosy as some people try to claim. For kids it can be even worse.

As rates of depression and suicide among young people continue to rise, a question has captured experts’ attention: Does social media make kids more depressed, or are kids who are already struggling simply spending more time online?

A new study from UC San Francisco is shedding light on the issue. Researchers found that when preteens increased their social media use, their depressive symptoms also rose. Interestingly, the opposite was not true. Higher levels of depression did not lead to more time spent on social platforms.

The numbers are eye-opening. Over the three years of the study, kids’ daily social media use jumped from just seven minutes to 73 minutes. During that same period, their depressive symptoms climbed by 35%. The study, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was published in JAMA Network Open.

I find it interesting the study found that depression “did not lead to more time spent on social platforms.” One would think depression would lead to more time on social media. But that might be a saving grace. However, with more social media use adding to depression, I stand by my statement above that social media too often paints a picture that is an illusion. Comparing one’s life to that of someone on social media can certainly lead kids to the conclusion that their own lives are awful in comparison.

One other negative aspect to social media when it comes to kids is cyberbullying which can be worse than the more traditional forms of bullying.

The study found kids aged 11 to 12 years who were cyberbullied were 2.62 times more likely to report suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt one year later. Additionally, those kids were also 2.31 times more likely to experiment with a substance (4.65 times more likely with marijuana, 3.37 with nicotine, and 1.92 with alcohol) in the following year.

Increasingly, the youngest generations find themselves facing a catch-22, with growing evidence that social media is associated with depressive symptoms and risky behavior, yet it is also a primary area for them to connect and communicate with friends.

It is a balancing act to deal with both the pros and cons of social media with kids. I know the ex and I had to deal with that with our son. While smart phones weren’t all that prevalent back when he was in high school, we worried about issues with cyberbullying via text and our son did not get a cell phone until his senior year. He’d seen what some of his friends were going through with that and he didn’t want any part of it.

What’s the answer to the problem? I’m not sure. But on thing I think we can do is emphasize again and again that much of what kids see on the screens of their phones is not real life. It isn’t even close. We also need to make sure they know it is perfectly okay to block others and, if things get worse, to tell their parents, their brothers or sisters, or their school counselors. Too often they keep these things to themselves which can make things feel even worse.