Amy Kranzler, PhD

This study is extremely important and highlights the role social media may play in increasing help seeking for depression among adolescents. We know that rates of depression increase significantly during adolescence and young adulthood, and that there is a growing number of young people with depression who do not get the mental health treatment they need. As a psychologist who specializes in working with adolescents and young adults, one of the biggest challenges we face is that young people often do not seek help or talk about their depression with others because they worry about stigma.

Findings from this study are also consistent with what we see clinically and with the developmental literature. From a developmental perspective, young adults are beginning to develop more supportive and intimate relationships and are better at identifying and describing how they are feeling, and for these reasons they may feel more comfortable talking about their depression with a friend, whereas adolescents may rely more on social media.

On the one hand, disclosure of depressive symptoms on Facebook may increase the likelihood that an adolescent will receive the support, information and access to mental health treatment that they need. On the other hand, responses they receive on Facebook are not always helpful or constructive, and the information about their depression may not reach the people who can actually help them.

This study underscores the importance of continuing to reduce stigma surrounding depression and suggests that social media and internet-based interventions may be particularly acceptable to adolescents as a first-line approach. Still, family members and friends who see Facebook posts referencing depression should always encourage adolescents and young adults to get help for their depression from a mental health professional.