Yes, Social Media Is Making You Depressed
By: Jim Woods
Tags: Self-awareness, Social Media, Self Improvement, Psychology, Life Lessons

Yes, Social Media Is Making You Depressed

The science is in and it’s not surprising

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

The science is in regarding social media, and the findings are not very surprising. The University of Arkansas just released a new study which is the first large, national study to show a link between social media use and depression over time.

The connection is clear between social media and depression.

Essentially, the more time you spend on social media, the more likely you are to become depressed. Participants who used social media for more than 300 minutes per day were 2.8 times more likely to become depressed than those who spent less than 120 minutes per day on social media.

I know what you’re thinking. 300 minutes is a long time. Who spends 5 hours on social media per day? Well, this study was conducted in 2018, before the pandemic of 2020.

According to this source, in 2020 we spend on average 3 hours per day on social media. Consider this fact: 3.96 billion people use social media today, which accounts for roughly half (51%) of the global population.

So if we average 3 hours right now, 5 hours is actually not as high as it sounds. Consider that we are using social media on our phones, tablets, and computers.

I think we could argue that YouTube is even a form of social media with the comments section. LinkedIn wasn’t considered in this study either. Here is a summary that includes some of the highlights of the study.

Some Details Of The Study

The study had a sample size of 1,000 individuals between the ages of 18 to 30 during 2018.

The study focused on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, and SnapChat.

“Social media is often curated to emphasize positive portrayals,” said Jaime Sidani, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and co-author of the study.

“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.”

Here’s another powerful insight from Sidani. “Excess time on social media may displace forming more important in-person relationships, achieving personal or professional goals, or even simply having moments of valuable reflection.”

Let’s be totally honest: this study is only confirming what we’ve already known. Social media makes it easier to compare ourselves to other people. In turn, once we do that, we often feel inadequate and lonely. Over time, feelings of isolation and loneliness lead to depression.

I’ve heard it said that depression is often anger that is turned inward. That’s what it is like for me: depression is a mix of frustration, anger, and loneliness. Real connection — actually talking to people in a meaningful way — often helps with that.

So what’s the solution? What’s the takeaway? Engage in a real conversation, not a superficial conversation. Yes, you can do this on social media. But it’s not very common. Be willing to be weird. Dig deeper. Have real conversations and don’t settle for the surface level ones. Intentionally engage with other people.

Don’t settle for casual browsing and scrolling. That’s what the app makers want you to do.

Schedule a “virtual coffee” and hang out with people. Honestly, this might be a great time to start a podcast where you intentionally connect with other people. I’m doing that with mine. I’m starting an interview once per month on my Write Your Book Podcast.

Not into podcasting? Sick of Zoom too? I get that. How about a good old fashioned phone call? That’s right, that thing in your hand is good at making phone calls. Do that. Connect with others proactively, not reactively. You’ll be glad you did.