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The use of social media has correlations with reduced well-being and increased anxiety and depression among adolescents and
One
Another study involving 990 participants in the United States found a link between social media use and the development of depression. However, preexisting depression did not predict social media use.
However, how accurate these studies are may be questionable because many of them rely on self-reported social media use. A
Furthermore, studies often do not include adults in their samples, so the effects of social media on older age groups are relatively unknown.
Lastly, whether there is a causal relationship between social media use and depression — and which comes first — is still unknown.
Recently, researchers conducted a survey study investigating the link between social media use and the development of depressive symptoms.
The results suggest certain social media use preceded the worsening of depressive outcomes. The findings appear in
However, some experts doubt the extent to which these findings can be interpreted.
The researchers analyzed results from survey data taken between May 2020 and May 2021 from individuals aged 18 years and above. The survey sample included quotas for sex, age, and race and ethnicity from each of the 50 states in the U.S. to ensure it was representative of the country’s population.
Survey questions included the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess for depressive symptoms. Questions examined whether participants had “little interest or pleasure in doing things” and whether they were “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless” on a four-point scale.
The researchers also queried participants on:
For the data analysis, the team included participants who had filled out the surveys at least twice and had an initial PHQ-9 score of less than 5, indicating less than mild depression.
Overall, 5,395 people completed two surveys. Their average age was 55.8 years old, while 65.7{b574a629d83ad7698d9c0ca2d3a10ad895e8e51aa97c347fc42e9508f0e4325d} were female, 4.7{b574a629d83ad7698d9c0ca2d3a10ad895e8e51aa97c347fc42e9508f0e4325d} Hispanic, 10.6{b574a629d83ad7698d9c0ca2d3a10ad895e8e51aa97c347fc42e9508f0e4325d} Black, and 76.3{b574a629d83ad7698d9c0ca2d3a10ad895e8e51aa97c347fc42e9508f0e4325d} white.
From their analyses, the researchers noted that Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok use in the first survey had associations with a significantly greater risk of an increase in self-reported depressive symptoms.
They also noted that COVID-19-related news participants consumed in the last 24 hours alongside the number of social supports and daily face-to-face interactions only impacted results linked to Snapchat.
While TikTok and Snapchat use had correlations with depressive symptoms among those aged 35 years and older, but not those younger than 35, Facebook use had associations with depressive symptoms among those under 35, but not those older than 35.
The researchers say that due to the observational nature of their study, they cannot ascertain why social media use may have links to depression. However, they identify possible mechanisms.
“One possible explanation for our results is that people who are at risk for depression, even if they’re not currently depressed, are more likely to use social media,” Roy H. Perlis, M.D., M.Sc., lead author of the study, told Medical News Today.
“Another is that social media actually contributes to that increased risk. With our study design, we can’t distinguish between the two. What we can exclude is the possibility that depressed people are more likely to report social media use, which was a limitation of some previous studies,” he added.
When asked to explain what might be behind this association, Sara Makin, M.S.Ed. NCC., LPC., and founder and CEO of Makin Wellness, who was not involved in the study, highlighted that when isolated, people may turn to social media as a way to feel more connected. However, this may have an inverse effect and therefore result in depressive symptoms.
She also noted the effect of social comparison: “Social media often only shows people ‘living their best lives’ or the positive things that are happening like purchasing a new house, getting a new job, graduating from college, etc. Most people compare their failures to others’ successes, which can make us have negative thoughts about ourselves.”
While it seems as though rates of depression increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, some question whether social media use had a casual role at all.
“Big limitations make it difficult, if not impossible, to conclude anything worthwhile from the findings, “ Craig J. R. Sewall, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the study, told MNT.
“The item they used to measure use of [social media] platforms is a simple ‘yes/no’ response to this question: ‘do you ever use any of the following social media sites or apps?’ So a person [who] used Instagram, for example, 5 years ago and a person [who] used Instagram 5 hours ago would both answer ‘yes.’”
“That’s a big problem and renders this finding practically meaningless: In adjusted regression models, Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok use at first survey were significantly associated with greater risk of increase in self-reported depressive symptoms,” he continued.
“Because the question about [social media] use was phrased the way it was, even if they found an association between [social media] use and depression, they would have no way to ascertain whether that [social media] use was recent or a long time ago, whether they frequently visited the [social media] platform or whether it was a ‘one-and-done’ situation [or both]. As a result, it’s a big stretch to conclude that participants’ increase in depression between May 2020 and May 2021 had anything to do with whether they used certain [social media] platforms,” he explained.
“I believe the ‘link’ found in this study is dubious but, generally, if there is a link [between social media] and depression, there could be a number of explanations. In the time of COVID-19, I believe the most plausible explanation is that many people experienced increases in depression due to the myriad negative impacts of the pandemic.”
– Dr. Sewall
“At the same time, people had to rely more on digital technology like [social media] to connect with friends, colleagues, and loved ones. So people who became more depressed due to the pandemic may have relied on [social media] more as a coping mechanism,” he concluded.
“Explaining the links between social media use and depression requires a lot of careful thought and precise methodology, “ said Dr. Fisher. “In my personal opinion, this should be done in a way that moves away from cross-sectional, self-report measures like are employed in this study and toward measures that consider the individual (sometimes called idiographic methods), and those which measure social media use in a more objective fashion (like using device logs or a data donation framework).”
“I just don’t know that we have enough evidence from this paper to decisively conclude that there is a link between social media use and depression, much less that the causal directionality here is that social media use [leads to] depression. It’s also possible that those who were more depressed during the pandemic happened to use social media more (e.g., to connect with friends). The methods used here don’t let us conclude either way,” he added.
The researchers conclude that we need to understand the relationship between social media use and mental health better.
“Even if social media use is only telling us about underlying risk, rather than causing it, can we understand why?” said Dr. Perlis. “Might we be able to intervene to prevent depression and anxiety? We hope that our work will inform both mental health researchers and policymakers in thinking about how to study and potentially act on this relationship. What we can’t continue to do is simply ignore this association or try to wave it away as a statistical artifact.”
The researchers note that their study has several limitations. Firstly, they say they could not properly control for all factors that may have influenced their results. They stress that their research does not prove causation and that social media use may “simply be a marker of underlying vulnerability to depression.”
When asked how these findings should influence public health, Ms. Makin said: “For one, limits for the amount of social media that one consumes should be set. This can be easily done by going into your settings on your [smartphone], so once you have reached your limit for the day, you can no longer access the app.”
“Likewise, research may need to be done to determine what is an appropriate amount of time to spend on social media where it makes us feel good but does not cause us to become fixated on the lives of others and cause feelings of depression. It may also be helpful to suggest changes about the way that we interact and react on social media with others. Teenagers and adolescents who have social media accounts may need to be monitored more closely to make sure they are not victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying,” she added.
However, Dr. Sewall believes these findings should not influence public health recommendations, given the “flimsy” evidence:
“If the hope is to help people improve their well-being during these very difficult times, I believe it would be a waste of time and resources to focus on people’s [social media] use. [It would be] much better to focus on some of the myriad other issues that have been impacted by the pandemic — like financial security.”
Dr. Fisher agreed that these findings should not directly influence public health recommendations, “at least not in an extreme way.”
Dr. Fisher added: “I do hope that findings like these generate some momentum toward pressuring social media companies to share their data with independent researchers, because this is likely the only way for us to come up with evidence that is actually conclusive with regard to the links between social media use and depression.”
“I am all for increased accountability for social media platforms, but the fact is that social media use is
“We are likely to actually set our understanding back if we are too quick to pathologize everyday behaviors. I would be disappointed if healthcare practitioners and other public health officials use the findings from this study as justification for any kind of causal link between social media use and depression, especially in a general sense.”
– Dr. Fisher
“There is by no means a consensus in the academic community that ‘social media,’ or even particular social platforms are harmful to mental health in a general sense and [we] need much better data to be more sure about these links, and even more so to understand which direction the causal order flows,” Dr. Fisher concluded.
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Walking into the Lakewood 24 Hour Fitness for a pre-Thanksgiving workout Wednesday night, I noticed staff at the front desk dutifully informing patrons they needed to wear a mask upon entering. They even passed out masks to those who did not have one readily available.
Unfortunately, that is where it stopped. I spent the next hour watching people work out with masks dangling off their ears or slid below their noses.
Worse? I saw one meathead who was wearing his mask as a chin-bra catch the eye of a disinterested gym employee, realize the employee did not care what he did with his mask, and subsequently strip it off and pocket it. As he continued his routine, several other members took note and began discarding their own face coverings.
That is the way noncompliance with mask mandates works. Just like the virus they are supposed to protect against, once one destructive element enters an ecosystem it tends to spread rapidly. Furthermore, when effective countermeasures are not taken to combat the spread, the result can be dire.
By the time I left the gym, four or five (out of roughly 50) people were going entirely without masks. It is not a lot in raw terms, but given the increased respiratory rate induced by exercise and the dynamic movement between spaces of people at a gym — as opposed to a static restaurant seat — it can pose a substantial threat of infection.
After spending the better part of the past year working with COVIDCheck Colorado, I felt obliged to mention this to the staff as I left. I suggested that it would be beneficial for someone to walk around the premises every 20-30 minutes and remind people that Jefferson County required face coverings in public indoor places.
READ: Colorado Sun opinion columnists.
Rather than acknowledge or follow up on my suggestions, the bearded staffer replied in contemptuous arrogance that, “we are in compliance with all our corporate requirements and do not need to.”
Well, actually …
The JeffCo Public Health order, which supersedes any corporate policy, does require businesses to deny service to anyone not wearing a face covering on their premises. In context that means nobody should be lifting weights or taking classes or working on cardio without one.
My guess is that JeffCo regulators would take a dim view of the explanation provided to me. Given that Colorado hospital bed occupancy rates hit an all-time high recently, and JeffCo has watched as “cases and hospitalizations have a continued to increase sharply at very concerning rates” over the past few weeks, I think they would be particularly nonplussed by the statement provided to me.
The feeling is probably shared by doctors, nurses and other health care providers as Saint Anthony’s Hospital less than a mile away from my gym. After nearly two exhausting years, they are now bracing for a winter surge buttressed by the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.
That said, I doubt it is the actual corporate policy. The evening front desk host is generally not the primary repository for corporate compliance. But the company does have an obligation to provide clear dictates to their employees. Especially when it is a company premised on improving its customers’ health.
I am not a fan of cancel culture and am not advocating for some backlash against my gym. I have belonged to 24 Hour Fitness for nearly two decades, and have no plan to stop going anytime soon. I just wish they would do better. It may be hard for companies and employees, but not impossible.
The same day I went to the gym, I also swung by the Belmar Core Power Yoga. They were adamant about masks for every customer despite the hot, humid conditions and an emphasis on breathing during practice.
From personal experience, I can attest that masks imposed on a sweaty hot yoga session are far more burdensome than anything at the gym. Yet, when one person threatened to cancel his membership, the staffer politely replied, “I’m sorry you feel that way and hope you’ll rejoin us when you can.”
Masks are uncomfortable and irritating. But just like any piece of exercise equipment, they are a tool that helps us to be stronger and healthier. After more than 773,000 Americans have died from this disease, it is a weight we should all be willing to lift.
Mario Nicolais is an attorney and columnist who writes on law enforcement, the legal system, health care and public policy. Follow him on Twitter: @MarioNicolaiEsq
The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or give feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.
