Time spent using social media was not associated with changes in depression or anxiety over 8 years, according to new research in Computers in Human Behavior that examined the transition between adolescence and emerging adulthood.
“I have been interested in the impact of media on children and adolescents for a very long time. There has been a lot of press saying that social media is responsible for the mental health crisis – I wanted to see if this was actually the case,” said lead author Sarah M. Coyne, a professor at Brigham Young University.
In the study, 500 youth completed yearly assessments of social media use, depression, and anxiety over an eight-year span. The participants were between the ages of 10 and 13 at the start of the study.
At age 13, adolescents reported an average social networking use of 31–60 minutes per day. These average levels increased steadily so that by young adulthood, they were reporting upwards of two hours per day. This increase of social networking, though, did not predict future mental health. In other words, when adolescents increased their use of social media, they did not increase in either depression or anxiety.
“Screen time matters less than we think in terms of the impact on mental health. Other research suggests that context and content matters more,” Coyne told PsyPost.
“It’s not just the amount of time that is important for most kids. For example, two teenagers could use social media for exactly the same amount of time but may have vastly different outcomes as a result of the way they are using it,” she added in a news release.
“If you get on specifically to seek out information or to connect with others, that can have a more positive effect than getting on just because you’re bored,” Coyne said.
The study, “Does time spent using social media impact mental health?: An eight year longitudinal study“, was authored by Sarah M. Coyne, Adam A. Rogers, Jessica D. Zurcher, Laura Stockdale, and McCall Booth.