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Negative experiences online may increase risk for depressive symptoms

Young adults who reported negative experiences on social media were more likely to have depressive symptoms than those who experienced positive interactions, according to study findings.

Every 10% rise in positive online experiences was linked to a 4% drop in odds of depressive symptoms, data published in Depression & Anxiety showed.

“Social media use has presented a puzzle in terms of its relationship with depression,” Brian A. Primack, MD, PhD, from the University of Pittsburgh, and colleagues wrote. “Whereas prior studies have generally treated [social media] use as a unidimensional exposure variable (eg, via ‘time’ or ‘frequency’), all [social media] experiences are not the same in terms of positive or negative subjective experience.”

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,179 full-time students aged 18 to 30 years enrolled at University of West Virginia in August 2016 to examine the relationship between positive and negative experiences on social media and depressive symptoms. Participants completed an online survey that measured self-reported outcomes across physical, mental and social health. Primack and colleagues measured depressive symptoms using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and controlled for sociodemographic factors.

The results demonstrated that positive experiences on social media were only very slightly related to lower depressive symptoms, but negative experiences were strongly and consistently linked with higher depressive symptoms.

After adjusting for covariates, analysis showed that every 10% rise in positive experiences on social media related to a 4% decrease in odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.91–1). In contrast, every 10% boost in negative experiences related to a 20% boost in odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR = 1.2; 95% CI, 1.11–1.31). The authors found that the connection between negative experiences and depressive symptoms remained significant even after including both independent variables — positive and negative experiences on social media — in the same model (adjusted OR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.1–1.3).

“Our findings may encourage people to pay closer attention to their online exchanges,” Primack said in a press release.

“Moving forward, these results could assist scientists in developing ways to intervene and counter the negative effects while strengthening the positive ones,” he continued. “We don't know from our study whether the negative social media interactions actually caused the depressive symptoms or whether depressed individuals are more likely to seek out negative online interactions. As with many things in social science, the answer is probably some combination of the two, but more research will be needed to disentangle cause and effect.” – by Savannah Demko

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.