TDNet Discover

Background: In the last couple of years, there has been a rise in mental health disorders in the United States among adolescents and young adults. Social media use has also grown exponentially. Recent studies have evaluated the relationship among the two and there is a growing interest in the potential influence of social media and mental health, most commonly, depression. Objective: The primary objective of this evidence-based systematic review is to identify and evaluate the correlation between social media use and depression among adolescents and young adults. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the following databases: Google Scholar, ProQuest, and PubMed. The inclusion criteria for articles to be reviewed were (i) adolescent and/or young adult population (ages 10-32), (ii) study based on social media sites, (iii) depressive symptoms, (iv) systematic reviews, meta-analysis, controlled, clinical studies, or observational studies, (v) articles of “good” quality per the quality assessment. Each researcher independently searched their assigned database and then implemented an independent “in duplicate” search and review of another’s database to increase the internal validity of this research. An independent “in-duplicate” search was then performed for the titles and abstracts by two of the researchers and each researcher performed a full-text review on the articles in their search. A total of 3 articles met all criteria. Information was extracted based on social media use and depression. Results: The results of two observational studies and one systematic review and meta-analysis revealed positive correlations between depression or psychiatric symptoms and social media use among adolescents/young adults. This relationship between social media and depressive CORRELATION BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND DEPRESSION v symptoms was found with statistical significance across the boards. The longitudinal data revealed that as the rates of new media screen use grew, so did the depression rates in the target population. This result, along with data showing a direct relationship between increased depression and increased time spent on social media, gave a strong argument for a causal relationship. Conclusion: The direct positive correlation found in this study reveals that it is important to consider social media use and its role in causing depressive symptoms. This relationship can eventually manifest as depression and suicidality in adolescents and young adults. Social media usage is a modifiable factor that could lead to reduced reliability on pharmacotherapy in affected populations. Clinicians can use this new information for prevention and intervention practices in younger generations, who are most at risk for the adverse psychological effects of chronic social media use.