Using high number of social media channels may increase risk of depression, study finds
It’s recently been revealed that a big thing damaging our self esteem isn’t glossy magazines, as we’ve learned to assume, but Instagram.
But it turns out that Instagram isn’t the only culprit, as a new study has revealed that the more social media you engage with as a whole, the greater your risk of becoming depressed could be.
According to The Daily Dot, a study by the University of Pittsburgh Centre for Research on Media, Technology and Health found that millennials who report using seven to 11 social media platforms had more than three times the risk of depression or anxiety than those who use zero to two.
The 1,700 participants were asked about the most popular social media platforms in 2014 (which was when the study was conducted), many of which are still firm favourites today such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest.
Those that used more than seven platforms showed higher levels of depressive symptoms, even when the researched factored in gender, relationship status, race, household income and the amount of time they actually spent on social media.
Brian A. Primack, the author of the study, said that the correlation wasn’t certain.
After all, those who suffer depression could be lead to use social media more, rather than it happening the other way around.
“For example, they may be searching out multiple avenues for a setting that feels comfortable and accepting,” Primack explained.
“However, it could also be that trying to maintain a presence on multiple platforms may actually lead to depression and anxiety. More research will be needed to tease that apart.”
Do you think that using multiple social media channels increases the risk of depression? Tweet us at @YahooStyleUK.
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