This year has brought an increased awareness about the potential harm that social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok can have on teens’ mental health.
A Facebook whistleblower’s testimony before Congress and leaked internal documents detailed the increased risks for poor self-esteem, disordered eating, and suicidal thoughts in some young people using the apps.
有关的：举报人和泄漏的文件后，Facebook受到了抨击，揭示了对女孩的负面影响
Now new research suggests that social media use may impact mental health in adults as well. Researchers found that social media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, were associated with an increased likelihood of depressive symptoms in adults who didn’t initially report depression.
More People Using Social Media Since the Pandemic
大流行改变了我们的工作，饮食，购物和使用社交媒体的方式。美国平均每天在2020年在社交媒体上花费65分钟，比前一年增长了近20％根据市场研究公司Statista的说法。The most preferred social media platform for新冠肺炎updates was Facebook.
焦虑症状and depression have been higher since the start of the pandemic as well. During August 2020 to February 2021, the percent of adults with recent symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder increased from 36.4 to 41.5 percent, according to areport from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)。
社交媒体：朋友还是敌人？
The relationship between social media and mental health has been the subject of a lot of debate, saysRoy Perlis, MD哈佛大学精神病学教授和医学主任BipolarClinic and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who is lead author of thestudy, published November 23 inJAMA Network Open。
“一方面，社交媒体一直是人们与更大的社区保持联系的一种方式，也许可以获取有关他们感兴趣的事物的信息。另一方面，即使在这些平台上存在广泛误解的风险之前，也有一种感觉，即孩子和青少年可能会受到社交媒体的负面影响，”他说。
Dr. Perlis and his team set out two related questions: Is social media associated with depression and related symptoms in adults, and which comes first? Does social media use lead to depression, or are depressed people more likely to use social media more?
TikTok and Snapchat More Likely Associated With Depression in Older Adults
Researchers sent out surveys approximately every six weeks from May 2020 to May 2021 to adults in all 50 states that asked questions about a variety of attitudes and behaviors, including social media use. There were a total of 5395 participants with an average age of 55 years old; 65.7 percent female, 76.3 percent white, 10.6 percent Black, 6.1 percent Asian, 4.7 percent Hispanic, and 2.3 percent American Indian or Alaska Native, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian.
为了使社交媒体使用对情绪的影响为零，研究人员包括第一次完成调查时不沮丧的人。“当他们完成后来的调查时，我们再次询问抑郁症。这样，我们可以确定社交媒体使用之前抑郁症状,” explains Perlis.
调查人员发现，包括老年人在内的成年人使用特定的社交媒体平台更有可能在以后报告抑郁症状。“在某些情况下，这些风险在年轻人中与老年人不同。最值得注意的是，Facebook使用与抑郁症风险was greatest among adults under 35. For other platforms, like TikTok and Snapchat, the risk appeared to be greater in older adults,” he says.
Perlis说，通过检查参与者对其他调查问题的回答，研究人员得出结论，较高的风险不是其他差异的结果，例如拥有更少的社会支持或与更少的人互动。
Further Research Still Needed
Perlis说，这项研究不是为了确定社交媒体使用可能会增加抑郁症风险的原因。“我怀疑社交媒体会开始挤出其他可能更健康的活动（例如，锻炼），而是沉浸在对他们情绪产生负面影响的故事中。”
Perlis说，下一步的研究步骤应调查是否有更多社交媒体使用会导致抑郁症，或者只是抑郁症的风险标志。“鉴于抑郁症对公共卫生有负面影响，这两种解释都对公共卫生有影响。通过确定社交媒体使用是导致抑郁症，还是仅仅是风险标志，我们可以开发旨在防止使用更多社交媒体的人的抑郁症的干预措施。”他说。
