Social media ‘creates depressive loop’ for teens

INCREASED social media use has been linked to a rise in teenage depression as it shows “perfect lives” of those with wealthy lifestyles, research suggests.

The more time adolescents spend on social media and television, the more severe their depression becomes, it found.

The study of 1,786 girls and 2,028 boys aged 12 to 16 found that if their social media use and television viewing was more than the overall average in a given year, then symptoms also increased that year. There was no evidence that screen time had an impact on adolescent depression by reducing involvement in physical activity.

But the data did indicate that interacting with media outlets that were more conducive to promoting upward social comparisons was associated with a drop in self-esteem.

Elroy Boers, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Montreal’s department of psychiatry, said: “The algorithmic features of television viewing and, in particular, social media, create and maintain a feedback loop by suggesting similar content to users based on their previous search and selection behaviour.

“Thus, the more one’s depressive state influences their viewing choices, the more similar content is being suggested and provided, and the more likely one will be continuously exposed to such content, therewith maintaining and enhancing depression.”

The researchers say their study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, could help families to regulate screen time.