Digital Smarts - Is Frequency of Social Media Use the Culprit in Teen Age Depression?

A recent UK study in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health reports that adolescents who checked social media more than three times daily had increased psychological distress compared with those with lower social media use. Researchers also found that reduced sleep quality and elevated cyberbullying exposure accounted for about 60% of the correlation between very frequent social media use and psychological distress among girls, but only 12% of the association among boys.

How does this translate? It appears that it is not the social media that is depressing kids, but rather their frequent use of it. This is especially so when screen time interferes with getting enough sleep, or if they are being bullied. More time on devices leads to missing out on other positive social interactions, sleep and exercise.