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One study found that those who spend five hours a day on social media are three times more likely to have depression than those who spend less than two hours a day.
More than 1,000 young Americans participated in the study, which tracks the number of people who have developed symptoms of depression over a six-month period.
Experts believe that obsessions with platforms such as “Instagram”, “Twitter”, “Snapchat” and “Facebook” slow down the formation of friendships among young people. Social media addiction can also leave young people unmotivated to go and achieve career goals, fueling negative emotions.
The study found that adolescents are also believed to compare themselves to an impossible “photo-modified” idealistic lifestyle, and feel they are worthless by comparison.
This large study, published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first of its kind to link social media to depression.
Lead author Dr. Brian Primack, professor of public health at the University of Arkansas, said: “Most of my previous work in this area has left us puzzling questions. We know from other large studies that depression and social media use tend to converge, but it was difficult to know which came first. “
He explained: “This new study sheds light on these questions, because the initial heavy use of social media led to an increase in depression rates.” However, the primary depression did not cause any change in the use of social networks.
The research team asked study participants how often they used social media and compared it to their results on a comprehensive test that measures depression.
Of the 1,289 people in the final sample, 299 had already had depression at the start of the study and were followed up to see if this affected their use of social media.
During the six-month follow-up period, another 95 participants developed symptoms of depression.
Young adults who used social media for more than five hours a day were 2.8 times more likely to develop depression in six months than those who used social media for less than two hours a day.
The authors suggest that comparison may also be the basis for these findings, as social media channels are often filled with glamorous celebrity lives.
Co-author Dr. Jaime Sidani, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, added: “Social media is often coordinated to emphasize positive images. This can be especially difficult for young people who are going through critical moments in life related to identity development and who feel they cannot live up to the impossible ideals to which they are exposed.
Source: Sun
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