Increased social media use linked to developing depression: Study

Young adults who increased their use of social media were significantly more likely to develop depression within six months, according to a new national study authored by Dr Brian Primack, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions and professor of public health at the University of Arkansas. Compared with participants who used less than 120 minutes per day of social media, for example, young adults who used more than 300 minutes per day were 2.8 times as likely to become depressed within six months. The study, which will be published online December 10 and is scheduled for the February 2021 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the first large, national study to show a link between social media use and depression over time. In 2018, Primack and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh sampled more than 1,000 US adults between 18 to 30. They measured depression using the validated nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire and asked participants about the amount of time they used social media on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and SnapChat.