Does social media use increase depressive symptoms? A reverse causation perspective

• Main Authors: HARTANTO, Andree, QUEK, Frosch Yi Xuan, TNG, Yue Qi Germaine, YONG, Jose C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2021
• Subjects: social media; depression; adolescent; reverse causation; screen time; Applied Behavior Analysis; Social Media; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3444; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/4701/viewcontent/fpsyt_12_641934.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

According to the World Health Organization (1), 264 million individuals worldwide suffer from depression—a condition characterized by feelings of low self-worth, impaired concentration, and disturbed sleep, among various other maladaptive symptoms (2). Adolescents between 13 and 18 years of age are also vulnerable (3), with a 52% increase in the prevalence of depression among adolescents from 2005 to 2017 (4). Depression is tied to many serious problems including failure to complete education, higher unplanned parenthood rates, poorer interpersonal relations, and heightened risk of substance abuse and suicidality (5–7).