User:Lradcliffe03/Social media and psychology

Research has shown a positive correlation between time spent on social networking sites and depressive symptoms. One possible explanation for this relationship is that people use social networking sites as a method of social comparison, which leads to social comparison bias. Adolescents who used Facebook and Instagram to compare themselves with and seek reassurance from other users experienced more depressive symptoms. It is likely, though, that the effects of social comparison on social networking sites is influenced by who people are interacting with on those sites. Specifically, Instagram users who followed a higher percentage of strangers were more likely to show an association between Instagram use and depressive symptoms than were users who followed a lower percentage of strangers.

Other studies have found that social media use can potentially increase symptoms of depression in adolescents. Kleppgang et al. (2021) found that adolescents who used social media or played video games for more than three hours a day experienced a higher proportion of symptoms of depression. The goal of Kleppang’s study was to examine the relationship between electronic media use and symptoms of depression and to observe whether gender or platonic relationships affect said relationship. They used surveys and web-based questionnaires to gather data. The subjects, sourced from all over Norway, were adolescents in tenth grade. The questions that were presented to the participants asked them to identify any symptoms of depression they have experienced, the frequency of which they used social media, and their gender.