In March of 2011 a clinical report was released from the American Academy of Pediatrics titled The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. This report covers a variety of issues related to social media, both positive and negative. Something that jumped out is a term they refer to: facebook depression.
Facebook depression is not a new concept, as other research has addressed it. But the concept is an interesting one. Can facebook cause depression? What is the connection?
In January 2011 a 14-year-old teen killed himself after being taunted on facebook. Other stories have been reported in the media since. With kids accessing social media on a regular basis it certainly does open them up to even more possibilities of being tormented. Historically, when kids were bullied there was typically a small group of kids doing the tormenting. This limited the audience. On facebook, when people tease and taunt all of your friends can see it, and with the “like” and “comment” functions others can quickly and easily jump in.
We all know the anonymous nature of the web makes it easier for people to say and do things they may not do in person. But the issue of facebook depression is more simple than that. Things like someone not accepting your friend request, getting “unfriended”, or having no responses to your status updates can impact emotions. Add to that the emotional fragility of adolescents’ and that’s a recipe for depression.
So, what do the experts say about how to deal with this issue? Certainly telling kids not to use social media is not going to be successful. Besides, as the original research indicted there are positives to social media as well. So, the basic recommendation is for parents to pay attention to their kids’ social media use. Talk to them about potential pitfalls. Be their “friends” or follow them so that you can see what they are doing.
Depression in children and adolescents is a serious issue. Regardless of the reason, parents need to pay attention to signs and symptoms of depression and get help if indicated. However, being involved and educating your kids on how to manage their social media involvement can be a great step in avoiding depression in the first place.