POSITION ON HOW PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION SHOULD

MINIMIZE THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has been around since 550 B.C. where the earliest form of postal service dates
back to. The telegraph was invented in 1792, allowing messages to be delivered over a long
distance faster than a rider and a horse could carry them. About a century later, the telephone and
radio were both invented in 1890 and 1891 respectively. They are still used today, however their
modern versions are much more improved than their predecessors, allowing people to
communicate great distances instantaneously, something that humans had never experienced
before.
Social media has gone a long way from telegrams to networking sites, however, it has
produced negative effects on its users which include depression. Depression is an illness that
negatively affects the way you think, how you feel, and how you act, causing feelings of sadness
and a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. Some of the symptoms include feelings of sadness
and worthlessness, including thoughts of death or suicide. Depression is often the result of negative
impacts on a person’s life and is often associated with teenagers.
Social media has many contributing factors that increase the risk of suicide caused by
depression. Although social media has been beneficial for our society, it has always brought a form
of isolation as per Miller (2017) and Barr (2018). The proponenets want to emphasize that
depressions was triggered by social media interactions. There are other factors that will increase
depression, but it is given social media has brought a huge negative impact along with its benefits
to our society.
Being such a popular platform, social media is one of the root factors to be considered as
a contributor of depression among all ages. According to The Bronfenbrenner Center for
Translational Research (2017) the users of social media are more vulnerable and prone to suffer
more with depression when they spent their time browsing that can lead to enviousness and
comparison between themselves and to the specific post they saw. Scrolling through the news feed
can bring negative impacts as humans compare themselves to one another. Jealousy is a big
problem with social media. However, social networking sites are used to communicate, connect,
and interact by billions of people around the world daily, causing an increase in the possible effects
of Social Networking Sites (SNS) on a person’s mind and health, as per Baker D.A., et al (2016).
Since humans are naturally fault-finders, social media users are obsessed with their identity
that is exposed virtually hence they obliged themselves to keep a good image so that other people
will look up to them. More likes or more reactions to a certain post in the news feed can trigger a
negative impact in the social media user. This can lead to more comparisons, more jealousy, and
can ultimately lead to more episodes of depression.
According to Hurley (2018),”Research shows an increase in major depressive episodes
from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2014 in adolescents and from 8.8% to 9.6% in young adults.”
Social media has changed the way we communicate and maintain friendships, however, today’s
youth miss out on critical social skills development when spending most of their free time and
connecting to through a screen. The fact that social media has contributed to an increase in
depressions further amplifies the need for action as social media can be a negative impact to other
people.
Hocking (2018) states, “The term ‘Facebook depression’ has been coined to explain the
potentially negative impact of social media on young people. It describes the depressive symptoms
which can occur when young people spend a great amount of time on social media.” An estimate
in 2016 should that 2.5 million that 2.5 million UK children aged 13-17 used Facebook. The
London School of Economics posted a report that 43 percent of nine to twelve year olds have an
account on social media. “Evidence suggests social media use is having a negative effect on young
people’s mental health.” It is evident that Facebook is very popular and is used by millions of
people further showing that millions of people could be affected by depression.
The researcher wants to emphasize the damage caused by using social media on a
teenager’s mental health. When a person is dealing with such mental problems like depression,
anxiety, or loneliness, they tend to hurt themselves or worst committing suicide. There were lots
of reasons in where this feeling of isolation gets more deeper, social media included. As the
researchers observe the behaviour of some teenager, they found out that when a depressed person
use social media as source of entertainment they end up being more depressive. In such case that
when they saw good-looking, well-filtered photos they felt insecurity and loss their self-esteem.
According to the Child Mind Institute (2017) and Harley (2018), parents must control the
time their children spend on social media to minimize depression and its negative effects. Since
social media has become their first priority, parents should control their children’s usage of the
internet. In 2007, smartphones were introduced and by 2015, 92% of teenagers and young adults
owned a smartphone (Child Mind Institute, 2017).
Crawford (2015) states that studies show that the age group of 12-21 access social media
more than other age groups. There are 5 ways in which technology has negative influences on
youth. The influences include, social websites becoming their first priority, people portraying
themselves as someone they’re not, cyberbullying other users, feeling the need to change because
of powerful temptation.
According to Miller (2018), depression among adolescents has increased and many of its
causes are blamed on social media networks. However, there has not been enough research to
determine how teenagers and young adults within the age group of 14 - 22 years old view and
operate online up until now.

Conclusion:
Even though social media has brought about many positive effects to our society, it has
however brought negative side effects to some users, which include depression, especially on
teenagers. Depression has caused them to hurt themselves and commit suicide. The proponents
conclude that social media brings about negative impacts on teenager’s mental health causing them
to feel isolation among social class. However, there are possible ways to avoid social media
depression meaning there are solutions to cure this illness.

Hendricks, D. (2013). Complete History of Social Media: Then and Now. Retrieved from
https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-media-infographic.html

American Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). What is Depression? Retrieved from

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

Harley, K. (2018). Is Social Media Messing with Your Teen’s Mental Health? Retrieved from
https://www.psycom.net/depressionteens-social-media/depression-teens-social-media

Hocking, L. (2018). Does Social media Depression in Young People Really Exist. Retrieved from
https://www.rand.org/blog/2018/02/does-social-media-depression-in-young-people-really.html
The Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research Evidence - Based Living. (2017). How to
Avoid Depression Induced by Social Media: A body of research explains what to avoid online.
Retrieved from https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-
based-living/201701/how-avoid-depression-induced-socialmedia%3famp

Baker, A., David, A., & Guillermo, P. A. (2016). “The Relationship Between Online Social
Networking and Depression: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies” Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nin.gov/m/pubmed/27732062

Miller, S.G. (2017). Too Much Social Media Use Linked to Feelings of Isolation. Retrieved from
https://amp.livescience.com/5821-social-media-use-perceived-isolation.html

Barr, S. (2018). Six Ways Social Media Negatively Affects Your Mental Health. Retrieved from
https://www.independent.co.uk/negative-effects-depression-anxiety-addiction-a8307916.html

Child Mind Institute. (2017). Does Social Media Cause Depression. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-
depression/amp/

Miller, B.F. (2018). The connection between youth depression and socail media is complicated.
Retrieved from https://www/google/com/ph/amp/s/www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-
politics