Social Media Blamed For Anxiety And Poor Sleep In 'Online' Teens, Study

Yet another study has linked social media use and psychological problems in teenagers.

According to Live Science, the new findings suggest adolescents who log in during evening and night hours appear to be more affected. Through varied questionnaires they study sought details of social media use during day and night, and pressures associated with social media use like urgency to respond or be online, which can be linked with depression and anxiety. The study involved 467 participants

"While overall social media use impacts on sleep quality, those who log on at night appear to be particularly affected. This may be mostly true of individuals who are highly emotionally invested. This means we have to think about how our kids use social media, in relation to time for switching off," said lead researcher Dr. Heather Cleland Woods in a press release.

The main takeaway of the study is social media use was associated with poor sleep quality and low self-esteem, higher anxiety and depression levels. Dr. Woods said that adolescence itself is an increased period of vulnerability for depression and anxiety, worsened by poor sleep.

"It is important that we understand how social media use relates to these. Evidence is increasingly supporting a link between social media use and wellbeing, particularly during adolescence, but the causes of this are unclear," Dr. Woods said.