New York, Nov 26, : Social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok are likely to increase the likelihood of depressive symptoms.This is according to a new study. Roy H.Perlis, from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and others, discovered that Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok use at the first survey were significantly related to a higher risk of self-reported depressive symptoms.
Researchers found that 5,395 people with minimal depressive symptoms who reported using Snapchat, Facebook, or TikTok were more likely than others to report higher levels of depressive symptoms in a subsequent survey.
They concluded that “these results suggest that certain social-media use preceded worsening depressive symptoms.”
The study was published in JAMA Network Open.It included data from 13 waves a non-probability survey that was conducted monthly between May 2020 to May 2021 among US citizens aged 18 and over.
Data were analysed in July 2021 and August 2021.
Logistic regression was applied with no reweighting.
There was a 5 to 1 increase in 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (9 PHQ-9) score as an outcome.Participants sociodemographic features, baseline PHQ-9, and use of each social networking platform were also independent variables.
They were asked “Do you use any of these social media sites or applications?” Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Pinterest, TikTok and Twitter.
They were asked to identify any Covid-19-related news they had consumed in the last 24 hours.
This was done to establish a proxy for news sources.
The team found that social media use was associated, among survey respondents, with a higher likelihood of depressive symptoms following adjustment for sociodemographic features.
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