Written by: Aashutosh Pudasaini - 2022002, Grade XI
Posted on: 14 March, 2021
In recent years the world has seen a massive increase in Depression, Specially among teens and the young population. Roughly 4 billion people across the world use social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram. With such high numbers, experts have started research- the relationship between social media and the growing depression. Many mental health experts concluded that among young adults and teens, social media is one of the main causes of depression.
To prove this relationship between Social media and Depression researchers from the University of Pennsylvania divided 143 students into two groups, One group was restricted to only 30 minutes of social media per day and the other group could enjoy social media with no restrictions. Each student used Iphones and all their usage was closely monitored. After 4 weeks, The group with restrictions were found with lower severity of depression and loneliness than they had at the beginning of the study whereas other groups had higher severity of depression and loneliness than before. This is only one of many tests done on this topic, the outcome of other studies was also found similar. This clearly establishes a connection between Depression and the usage of social media. However, in today’s world, it's near impossible to live a social media-free life as it has become an inseparable part of modern society.
What good would this article be if I only stated problems and offered no solutions? I think if we limit ourselves to use social media for only a certain period of time and control the content that we consume we can live a healthy and stable life.
