Social Media Could Be Making Kids Depressed

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, the journal JAMA Network Open reported.

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 was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Led by Jason Nagata, MD, MSc, an associate professor in UCSF’s Department of Pediatrics, the research team tracked nearly 12,000 children, starting when they were 9 to 10 years old and following up when they reached 12 to 13.

The study is among the first to use within-person longitudinal data, meaning researchers could track changes over time in each child to accurately assess the link between social media and depression.

“There has been ongoing debate about whether social media contributes to depression or simply reflects underlying depressive symptoms,” said Nagata. “These findings provide evidence that social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms.”

While it’s unclear why social media increases depressive symptoms, prior research points to risks such as cyberbullying and disrupted sleep. In fact, Nagata and team just published a separate study in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas looking at the same cohort of participants, focusing instead on the effects of cyberbullying.

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.

To address this reality, the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests using the tools in its Family Media Plan to create healthier digital habits for both kids and parents.

“As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to ‘get off your phone’ doesn’t really work,” said Nagata. “Parents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental conversations about screen use. Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier digital habits for everyone, including adults.”

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