Social Media Use and Depression in Young Adults

The more time young adults use social media, the more likely they are to be depressed, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

The findings could guide clinical and public health interventions to tackle depression, forecast to become the leading cause of disability in high-income countries by 2030. The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is published online and in the April 1 issue of the journal Depression and Anxiety.

This was the first large, nationally representative study to examine associations between the use of a broad range of social media outlets and depression. Previous studies on the subject have yielded mixed results, been limited by small or localized samples, and focused primarily on one specific social media platform rather than the broad range often used by young adults.

“Because the use of social media has become such an integrated component of human interaction, it is important for clinicians interacting with young adults to recognize the balance to be struck in encouraging potential positive use, while redirecting from problematic use,” said senior author Brian A. Primack, director of Pitt’s Center for Research on Media, Technology and Health.

In 2014, Primack and his colleagues sampled 1,787 U.S. adults, ages 19 through 32, using questionnaires to determine social media use and an established depression assessment tool.

The questionnaires asked about the 11 most popular social media platforms at the time: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine, and LinkedIn.

On average, the participants used social media a total of 61 minutes a day and visited various social media accounts 30 times a week. More than a quarter of the participants were classified as having “high” indicators of depression.

There were significant and linear associations between social media use and depression whether social media use was measured in terms of total time spent or frequency of visits. For example, compared with those who checked least frequently, participants who reported most frequently checking social media throughout the week had 2.7 times the likelihood of depression. Similarly, compared to peers who spent less time on social media, participants who spent the most total time on social media throughout the day had 1.7 times the risk of depression. The researchers controlled for other factors that may contribute to depression, including age, sex, race, ethnicity, relationship status, living situation, household income, and education level.

Lead author Lui yi Lin,  who will graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine this spring, cautioned that, because this was a cross-sectional study, it does not disentangle cause and effect.

“It may be that people who already are depressed are turning to social media to fill a void,” she said.