During the last 12 months when social contact has been so heavily restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic, social media, and other digital tools have been the main means of keeping in touch with friends, family, and loved ones.  While this contact is ostensibly designed to aid our mental wellbeing, research from the University of Arkansas questions whether that is really the case, or whether social media might actually be making our mental health worse.

The study found that young adults who used social media for over 300 minutes each day were nearly 3 times more likely to become depressed than those who used social media for less than 120 minutes a day.  The researchers believe their findings are the first to provide a direct link between social media and depression over a prolonged period of time.

“Most prior work in this area has left us with the chicken-and-egg question,” they explain. “We know from other large studies that depression and social media use tend to go together, but it’s been hard to figure out which came first. This new study sheds light on these questions, because high initial social media use led to increased rates of depression. However, initial depression did not lead to any change in social media use.”

Unhealthy addiction

The researchers spoke to over 1,000 adults aged between 18 and 30 about their social media habits, while also measuring depression using the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire.

They argue that social media may be having a negative impact in part because of the amount of time spent on it.  An excessive amount of time on social media may take the place of healthier activities, such as in-person relationships or the achievement of personal and professional goals.  There is also likely to be an element of social comparison that contributes to our worsening mental health.

“Social media is often curated to emphasize positive portrayals,” the researchers explain. “This can be especially difficult for young adults who are at critical junctures in life related to identity development and feel that they can’t measure up to the impossible ideals they are exposed to.”

A worsening crisis

Mental health is a problem that is increasingly recognized, with the World Health Organization identifying depression as the leading global cause of disability recently.

Indeed, it is believed to contribute to more disability-adjusted life-years than all other forms of mental disorders combined, which underlines the scale of the problem society faces.  As in so many ways recently, there is a concern that social media may be a force for ill rather than good, especially during a pandemic that has so strained our mental wellbeing.

“These findings are also particularly important to consider in the age of COVID-19,” the researchers conclude. “Now that it’s harder to connect socially in person, we’re all using more technology like social media. While I think those technologies certainly can be valuable, I’d also encourage people to reflect on which tech experiences are truly useful for them and which ones leave them feeling empty.”