A new study suggests that teens using social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, for more than two hours daily are increasing their risks of developing mental problems. The study is the first to look for a possible link between the teens' social media use and mental health problems.
Researchers at the Ottawa Public Health involved 750 students from grade seven to 12 who answered a survey asking them about their social media use, mental health and psychological well-being and mental health support.
The survey showed that 25 percent of the participants are heavy social media users who spend at least two hours online everyday, 54 percent go online for less than 2 hours, and the rest do not use social media at all. The heavy users are more likely to have poor mental health, anxiety and depression, suicidal thoughts and unmet mental health needs.
"It could be that teens with mental health problems are seeking out interactions as they are feeling isolated and alone," Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga, study author from the Ottawa Public Health, told The Huffington Post in an email. "Or they would like to satisfy unmet needs for face-to-face mental health support."
Despite the alarming findings, the researchers do not recommend teens to quit social media. They believe that social media can be used to help them by getting more mental health resources on the sites. As HNGN previously reported, a study found out that social media is effective in helping people quit smoking compared to traditional helplines.
A similar study involving university students didn't yield the same results. The researchers believe that it might be because they can handle social media use more than the younger users. Therefore, parents should be more aware of the dangers of social media use and monitor their children. Policymakers should also increase their efforts in reaching out to the youth and develop strategies that could help address their mental health needs.
The study was published in the July 13 issue of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
