Rising depression in teens linked to social media

By HPN Staff

A new study of nearly 12,000 pre-teens found that social media use is “associated with elevated depressive symptoms.”

The study followed children over three years, starting at the age of 9 or 10.

“Daily social media use among study participants surged tenfold over those years,” The Washington Post reported in an interview with the study’s lead author. “During that same time frame, reported depression symptoms jumped 35 percent.”

“The findings suggest that clinicians should provide anticipatory guidance regarding social media use for young adolescents and their parents,” the researchers concluded.

Depression and other mental problems have become more common for American children and teenagers, and especially for girls.

It’s difficult to prove causation, and rates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many point to social media as a cause. This new study highlights potentially important data in that discussion. 

Why it matters

Most social media platforms say they require users to be at least 13 years old, but children are getting around that. Some 20% of 9- and 10-year-olds in the study had social media accounts, and the percentage increased to two-thirds by age 12.

Policymakers have struggled to add teeth to age restrictions. Congress is considering nationwide legislation, but so far hasn’t reached consensus. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who served under presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, took Congress to task on the issue last month.

“What we’re doing now is … the equivalent of putting our kids in cars with no seat belts, with no airbags, and having them drive on roads with no speed limits and no traffic lights,” he said on Meet the Press last month.

A growing number of states have passed, or are considering, statewide bans on cellphones in schools, and some states have passed laws requiring age verification and parental controls, as well as protecting personal data for users under 18.

The bigger picture

Researchers said social media users are more likely to be depressed, but that doesn't go both ways — they didn't find that children who are depressed were more likely to use social media.

“Social media does seem to be a risk factor for future depression, or worsening depressive symptoms,” lead author Jason Nagata told The Post. “But kids who were already depressed didn’t necessarily report using social media more in subsequent years."

Social media’s impact on mental health may not just be from the unrealistic comparisons social media offers, or online bullying, but because usage replaces other activities, like sleep or exercise.

“We found that [bedtime] was the most active time of use for most of these preteens,” Nagata told The Post. “Right before bed, they’re messaging friends from their bedroom.”