Time on Social Media by Teens: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Time spent on social media was associated in dose-response fashion with internalizing symptoms and combined internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

Could the recent increase in depression and suicide among teenagers be related to their near universal access to social media? To address this question, investigators conducted a 3-year, prospective, longitudinal, cohort study involving 6595 adolescents aged 13 to 16 years.

The researchers analyzed data obtained from household interviews to determine the association between the time adolescents spent on social media during 1 year and any internalizing symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety) and externalizing symptoms (e.g., aggression) they experienced during the following year.

Corrected for demographic factors, substance use, and baseline internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the analysis yielded the following results:

For internalizing …

Reviewing Author

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Steven Dubovsky, MD

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportTower Foundation; Patrick Lee Foundation; Boehringer Ingelheim; Intra-Cellular Therapies; Janssen; Biogen; Allergan

Editorial BoardsMind and Brain; Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic; Current Psychiatry; Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Time on Social Media by Teens: Too Much of a Good Thing?

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Reviewing Author