United States: You should know if your friend compulsively scrolls through social media websites that develop emotional bonds similar to Instagram and TikTok.
Health experts indicate that young persons undergoing depression and anxiety or suicidal thoughts treatment develop more severe mental health symptoms because of such attachments.
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According to the lead researcher, Betsy Kennard, a teaching professor of psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, “There has long been speculation that excessive social media use among young people may be a factor in increased rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but the relationship is not fully understood,” US News reported.
“Our findings are instructive because they characterize the prevalence of problematic social media use in children and adolescents who are receiving care for depression, suicidal ideation, and/or suicidal behaviors, which gives us insight into how they might intersect,” she continued.
A recent study from the April edition of the Journal of Affective Disorders demonstrates that 40% of the surveyed 8- to 20-year-olds exhibited socially problematic behavior in relation to social media, which produced feelings of unhappiness and a disconnected state and frustration when their favorite sites were inaccessible.
The research found that youth patients in therapy who wanted unlimited social media access showed greater depression symptoms together with anxiety symptoms and suicidal tendencies and presented worse general well-being than their peers who kept social media use in moderation.
The social media questionnaire received responses from 489 Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Registry patients for analysis.
The Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Registry records healthcare experiences of patients who receive treatment for depression or suicide risk at twelve academic hospitals throughout the state.
Research results indicate that patients with problematic social media behavior spend more time on screens.
What more are the findings?
The research showed that treatment patients who engaged with social media posted more depressive symptoms and severe depression and suicidal behaviors in addition to experiencing increased anxiety symptoms in comparison to their peers who spent less time on social media.
Study results indicated substance abuse levels were higher among young people with social media addiction issues.
“The appropriate amount of social media activity isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ issue, so what is fine for one individual may not be OK for someone else,” as Kennard stated.
“But what we often see is that the characteristics of problematic use mirror those of addiction, with continued use even when wanting to stop, cravings, interference with daily tasks and activities, deceptive use, interpersonal disruptions, and more,” she noted.