Increased Use Of Social Media Predicts Depression

The frequent use of the social media can predict depression in young adults. There is youth who are continuously using Instagram and Facebook, which is probably because they are feeling low, according to researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Hence, involving 1,787 U.S. adults between 19 and 32 years in a survey, scientists examined the questionnaires they filled out on their social media use related to the 11 most popular social media platforms. They included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Vine, Linkedin, Vine, YouTube and Google Plus.

"Participants were recruited via random digit dialing and address-based sampling. SM use was assessed by self-reported total time per day spent on SM, visits per week, and a global frequency score based on the Pew Internet Research Questionnaire. Depression was assessed using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression Scale-Short Form. Chi-squared tests and ordered logistic regressions were performed with sample weights," researchers wrote  in the study.

The experts discovered that the interviewees had a tendency to spend 61 minutes per day on the social media, apart from making an average of 30 visits every week.

There seemed to be a positive link between the use of social media use and depression.

Hence, participants who looked at their social media most often in the week tended to be 2.7 times more likely to be depressed, while others who spent the most time on the websites all day were 1.7 times more at risk of deression. Factors for age, sex, ethnicity, relationship status, household income, educational level and household income were also considered.

"Because social media has become such an integrated component of human interaction, it is important for clinicians interacting with young adults to recognize the balance to be struck in encouraging potential positive use, while redirecting from problematic use," said senior author Brian A. Primack, director of University of Pittsburgh's Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health, according to a university release.

"Our hope is that continued research will allow such efforts to be refined so that they better reach those in need," added Primack. "All social media exposures are not the same. Future studies should examine whether there may be different risks for depression depending on whether the social media interactions people have tend to be more active vs. passive or whether they tend to be more confrontational vs. supportive. This would help us develop more fine-grained recommendations around social media use."

The findings are published in the journal Depression and Anxiety.