The Link Between Social Media and Depression
Medically Reviewed By Avia James, LPC
Have you been feeling more depressed lately? As it turns out, your social media habits may be to blame. Not only is it harmful to our mental health, but it's also harmful to our physical health. All of the sitting around we do while we're on the computer and our phones can lead to serious health problems later on in life. Experts have called sitting "the new smoking."
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns parents against their children using social media. Between the cruelty of online bullies and the inadequacy kids feel when comparing themselves to their peers, social media can do a number on their psyches. However, social media isn't so great for adults either. "Social media depression" is a real thing that affects many people, young and old.
Facebook Depression
The AAP first used the phrase "Facebook depression" in a report that listed the potential of social media to exacerbate mental health problems. Facebook was not alone in this either. Sites like Myspace, YouTube, blogs, and even gaming sites have been found to have a negative effect on people's lives.
As some experts point out, social media cannot cause depression or other mental health conditions because it is simply a tool, but it can certainly make conditions that are already present all the more painful.
"Facebook depression" in particular is used to refer to the feeling people get when they see their friends leading what appears to be a more exciting life than they lead, based on their friends' status updates and photos. Teenagers may feel less popular when one of their peers gets more "likes" on a photo or status update than they do, or if that person's friend count is higher than theirs.
Individuals in their twenties may feel inadequate when their friends from high school post pictures of themselves with their gorgeous spouses, going on exquisite trips out of the country and trying exotic foods. For this reason, experts believe that social media may have an even larger impact on those who already struggle with a mental health condition.
The Dangers Of Social Media
It used to be that parents were terrified when their children were meeting people they haven't previously met in real life on the internet. And that fear is still there. However, with the rise of social media and texting, it is often the people you know in real life that can be damaging to your child.
Bullying is especially bad because those who don't dare to bully someone in real life (perhaps because they're always bullied themselves), find the courage to do so themselves, when behind a keyboard or a cell phone. Cyberbullying ranges from everything to homicidal threats and disturbing photos to texting someone non-stop for hours on end just to irritate them.
At least when you're being bullied in school, you get a reprieve from the person once you're finally home. Not so in the digital age. All a bully has to do is find out your child's phone number, and he can make your child's life a living hell.
Parents also have to be aware of and talk to their children about "sexting," which is when two people send each other sexually explicit text messages and possibly even explicit photographs. Parents should always inform their children of the dangers involved in social media and internet usage, and they should monitor what their children are doing online.
FOMO
Social media becomes addicting because of "FOMO," or the Fear of Missing Out. FOMO is what causes us to feel like we must be connected to social media at all times, or else we could be disconnected from our social circles. And websites like Facebook, that are constantly changing their algorithms to determine what we see, and from whom, are not helping.
We're constantly playing catch-up because we fear we may miss a post one of our friends has made. And then if we miss that post, our friend will get mad at us, and it could start a big fight. Or we might make them mad because they posted about a party we didn't know about, so we didn't RSVP, and now they're mad at us for not going.
There are so many assumptions and subtleties made when using social media, which an otherwise carefree practice, can turn toxic fairly quickly. And when we're constantly playing catch-up in the digital world, we miss the beauties of the physical world that are passing us by every day - something we'll surely regret when we're older, and our days feel more limited.
Less Active
People who sit around on their phones or their computers all day are less active, and therefore more prone to negative health consequences in the long run. In addition, by constantly engaging in this practice, those individuals are not partaking in activities that are better for their minds.
Consider this: which is healthier, spending all night scrolling through status updates on your phone, or attending a book club meeting where you can talk and laugh face-to-face, where miscommunications can be cleared up right then and there, and where you can share your interests with like-minded people? Even better, try a new cooking or crafting class where you can learn something new, rather than spending hours reading biased articles that will probably only make you angry.
Notifications are like junk food. They give us a rush of dopamine because someone "liked" our comment or status update, or because someone posted something on their page, but the jolt of happy energy we get is a hollow one. Much more fulfilling is spending the day with friends, rather than settling for conversing with them online.
Sleep Deprivation
This is a big one. It has been shown that backlit screens keep us awake longer at night because they mimic actual daylight. It messes with our circadian rhythm and convinces our bodies that if it's still daytime, then we must be awake. And we all know the dangers of consistently being sleep deprived. In consideration of this augment, social media can make us sick.
Not only that, but sleep deprivation is one of the major causes of depression, especially in teenagers. So those who stay up all night on their phones, reading the status updates of those who seem to be leading lives that are better than theirs, are waking up in the morning with barely any sleep. That cannot and does not make for a happy individual.
Research has shown that 60 percent of teenagers are scrolling through their phones at least an hour before bed. And those same teenagers get, on average, an hour less sleep each night than their peers who do not check their phones in the hour before bed. Not to mention that scrolling through social media is hardly relaxing. If anything, it's exciting and stressful - two emotions that will certainly contribute to keeping you up all night.
How To Reduce Your Use
Let there be no miscommunication: social media can be a wonderful thing. It can connect us to people we haven't talked to in years, and it can allow us to share photos with family members who live hundreds of miles away. It can help us set up events, like parties and book clubs, and it can provide hours of entertainment with funny memes and cat videos. But, just like anything else, too much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing.
Social media should not be used as a crutch. It should not be our go-to activity when we have a bit of time to kill, or when we need our spirits lifted. Studies have shown that people who ditch Facebook are typically happier than those who don't. However, if you feel like cutting the cord is just too much for you to handle, then take steps to reduce your usage if you feel it is becoming too soul-sucking.
One of the best ways to reduce your usage is to get your news from somewhere else. A lot of us use social media for news because we can check and compare all of our news in one spot. But this also prevents us from being as informed as we should be because we can be easily distracted by an article designed to trigger us.
Instead, visit the actual website, not the Facebook page, of your favorite news website. If you feel this is too tempting, turn off the computer, and turn on the television. Failing that, it's time to kick it old school and drop a buck or two on a paper publication. At the very least, it'll do your eyes some good to get away from all of that backlighting.
Have you found that social media tends to make you more depressed? Consider reaching out to one of our BetterHelp counselors for advice and more information.
Sources:
https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/exc_080811.shtml
https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does social media addiction cause depression?
According to the Child Mind Institute, particularly in young people, the more time spent on social media in pursuit of the latest news can mean less time spent in meaningful in-person social interaction, which tend to be more emotionally fulfilling than an online connection. This may mean either with family members or friends. This may mean they feel more lonely. The Child Mind Institute shares that some other reasons that social media can cause attention is by overly comparing yourself to the carefully curated images others display on social media, spending less time on important activities that build a sense of accomplish (such as physical activity), so much multitasking is actually bad for concentration and learning, and social media can disrupt sleep patterns.
Adult mental health can be affected by social media use as well, so taking care of adult mental health is important.
If you have anxiety depression may be a problem as well. Anxiety depression often go hand in hand.
If you believe you’re showing depressive symptoms, you should track your depressive symptoms and discuss them with a health care professional. Based on your depressive symptoms, they can make a strategic plan on how to help you and provide you with more health information on treatment services or resources from a national center.
If you are currently in crisis, you should reach out for help right now. The Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available now: 800-273-8255. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is a national center dedicated wholly to the work of suicide prevention. The Suicide Prevention Lifeline will connect you with a trained suicide prevention worker who is housed at a local crisis center that is part of the suicide prevention network. Their website has additional resources and health information on suicide prevention and ways you can promote suicide prevention, including volunteering and donating. The site and lifeline are also available for family members or loved ones of those who are in crisis.
If you are interested in finding other ways to support mental health work, you may look at joining an advisory council of an organization or national center. An advisory council helps guide an organization in maintaining its mission. Some local mental health institutes have an advisory council made up of individuals who are affected by mental health situations. You can search local advisory council to see what comes up as a suggestion. Many universities will also have an advisory council. Such an advisory council is not typically open to the public, but you could contact an advisory council member on an issue of importance, such as underage drinking. You can usually find information on a university’s advisory council on its website.
Does social media cause depression in youth?
If you’re asking does social media cause depression, yes, it can, according to the Child Mind Institute. Evidence shows that heavy uses of social media cause depression, by putting young adults at a higher risk of developing depression. If you believe you are showing symptoms of depression or other mood disorders, talk to your health care provider about treatment services.
The Child Mind Institute is a good resource and national center for learning more about this issue. Part of the work the Child Mind Institute does it to empower families and educators of children with a mental health disorder. They also have information on how you can support the Child Mind Institute. The Child Mind Institute has information broken down by topic, including tech and socializing. If you’re interested in any other topic related to mental health and children, the Child Mind Institute will probably have information on that as well.
Does social media make us lonely?
Social media can make us (and particularly young adults) lonely and have other negative effects because some research shows that the connections we make online aren’t necessarily as emotionally fulfilling as in-person social interaction. Social interaction is important to our mental health and well-being. According to the Child Mind Institute, there is a correlation between social media use and perceived isolation. That means the two are connected, but we don’t know if one is actually causing the other. (That is, are people who are more socially isolated drawn to social media, or do people who use social media become more socially isolated because of it?) Other intense social media habits could be indications of other mood disorders.
Why social media is bad for teens?
According to the Child Mind Institute, social media can be bad for young adults because it may deprive young adults of meaningful in-person connections, the ability to concentrate completely and be in the present, and cause negative effects on self-esteem by constant comparison to people’s curated lives. The last factor may lead to more eating disorders, because they can become more concerned about their body image but are comparing themselves against a fabricated body image to begin with. Body image problems are not new among teens, but social media is another medium for them.
Caring too much about your online image may be indicative of other mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder.
There’s also a chance that viewing too many violent and disturbing videos online can put you at risk for developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Second-hand post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t a new concept and is not meant to be compared to the post-traumatic stress disorder of those experiencing such conditions. It’s simply important to keep in mind that you may be experiencing some form of traumatic stress depending on what you’re exposing yourself to online.
For young adults, it may also normalize alcohol and drug use. For teenagers and college-aged students, there may be a pressure for underage drinking. But remaining drug free is important, particularly for any sort of mental health issue. Alcohol and drug use will only exacerbate a mental illness, so remaining drug free and drinking in health moderation is the easiest way to help your mental well-being.
If you are having a difficult time remaining drug free or are being pressured to engage in underage drinking, reach out for help. You will find peers who share the same worldview. Your university may also have some treatment services or connect you to a national center. It may feel like everyone is participating in underage drinking, but that’s not true and underage drinking can be harmful to brain development.
If you believe you are already dealing with alcohol and drug issues, talk to a health professional. They can come up with a strategic plan and treatment services to help you return to a drug free lifestyle and deal with any future underage drinking pressures. Many treatment services will treat your mental health and substance abuse disorder at the same time. Because they occur together often, plenty of treatment services are set up to deal with both. A national center may have additional resources.
Remember that even as an adult, you’re likely going to be expected to remain drug free. Your workplace will probably have measures in place to make sure you are drug. So, being drug free as a teenager and young adult sets it up to maintain a drug free lifestyle throughout life. Being drug free will also reduce your chances of other diseases and health complications, so being drug free will help your overall health in the long term.
How long do teens spend on social media?
Teens spend about nine hours a day in front of a screen. Of those who use social media, they use social media about two hours a day.
What is a healthy screen time per day?
There’s not a set consensus for a healthy amount of screen time. Most experts agree that it partially depends on what you’re doing and consuming and making sure that it’s a balance with the needs of real life and paying attention to what you need from your real life. Parents should make those determinations for their children and teens based on appropriate health information.
You can learn to mitigate some of the effects of heavy screen time here.
What are the symptoms of too much screen time?
If you’re worried about the amount of time spent on social media or on a screen, some health information that may be true includes:
- Digital motion sickness, which can you give a headache
- Soreness and cramping in your fingers, wrist, and forearm
- Eye strain
- Discomfort in the neck and spine
- Phantom sensations of your phone alerting you
- Overeating
- You’re distracted when you’re in public spaces
If you’re concerned about any of these, you can also talk to your health care practitioner about potential treatment services.
