A new study suggests that using social media platforms like Snapchat and TikTok is linked with a higher chance of developing depressive symptoms.
Social media users have a higher chance of developing depression
According to the researchers, including Harvard Medical School’s Roy H. Perlis, Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok users showed a higher risk of self-reported depressive symptoms increase in adjusted regression models.
The researchers stated that: “In this survey study, 5,395 individuals with minimal depressive symptoms on initial survey who reported use of Snapchat, Facebook or TikTok were more likely to report increased levels of depressive symptoms on a later survey. These results suggest that certain social media use preceded worsening of depressive symptoms”
For the study, published in JAMA Network Open, researchers utilized data from 13 cycles of a non-probability internet survey conducted every month between May 2020 and May 2021 among people aged 18 years old and older in the United States.
Logistic regression was used without reweighting, with a 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score increase of 5 or more points as the outcome and participant sociodemographic factors, baseline PHQ-9 scores, and use of each social media platform as independent variables.
Participants were asked, “Do you ever use any of the following social media sites or apps?” such as YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, etc.
They were further asked to identify any sources of COVID-19 related news in the past 24 hours (here, cable or network television, or web news site), which we used as a proxy for news sources more generally, number of social supports available “to talk to if you had a problem, felt sad or depressed”, and face-to-face meetings with non-household members in the prior 24 hours.
The researchers found that use of social media was linked to an increased chance of developing depressive symptoms in people who had not previously exhibited signs of depression after controlling for sociodemographic items and news sources.
