{"id":24829,"date":"2025-05-23T18:21:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T18:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=24829"},"modified":"2025-05-23T18:21:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T18:21:46","slug":"new-study-links-social-media-use-to-depression-among-preteens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-study-links-social-media-use-to-depression-among-preteens\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Links Social Media Use to Depression Among Preteens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">As social media use among preteens rises, so do their depressive symptoms, according to a new study from UC San Francisco. This research sheds new light on the mental health risks of digital engagement among youth.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As youth depression and suicide rates rise alarmingly, a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco sheds light on the substantial role social media plays in contributing to these mental health issues. The findings, <a href=\"https:\/\/jamanetwork.com\/journals\/jamanetworkopen\/fullarticle\/2834349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in JAMA Network Open, reveal that increased social media use among preteens correlates with higher depressive symptoms over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The research team, led by Jason Nagata, an associate professor in UCSF\u2019s Department of Pediatrics, explored this link by tracking nearly 12,000 children aged 9 to 10, and then again at 12 to 13 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This rigorous three-year study is among the first to analyze within-person longitudinal data to assess the connection accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There has been ongoing debate about whether social media contributes to depression or simply reflects underlying depressive symptoms,&#8221; Nagata said in a news release. &#8220;These findings provide evidence that social media may be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Findings and Implications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On average, preteens&#8217; social media use increased from seven to 73 minutes per day over the course of the study. Concurrently, depressive symptoms in the cohort rose by 35%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the study determined that while heightened social media engagement drove an increase in depressive symptoms, the reverse was not true &#8212; existing depressive symptoms did not result in higher social media use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the study did not definitively pinpoint why social media exacerbates depressive symptoms, previous research suggests contributing factors such as cyberbullying and disrupted sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Supporting this, Nagata and his team recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lanam\/article\/PIIS2667-193X(25)00012-2\/fulltext\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">published another study<\/a> in The Lancet Regional Health &#8211; Americas, revealing that children between the ages of 11 and 12 who experienced cyberbullying were 2.62 times more likely to contemplate or attempt suicide one year later. They were also more likely to experiment with substances like marijuana (4.65 times more likely), nicotine (3.37 times ) and alcohol (1.92 times) a year later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In light of these findings, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends utilizing their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/fmp\/Pages\/MediaPlan.aspx\">Family Media Plan<\/a> to foster healthier digital habits for both children and their parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;As a father of two young kids, I know that simply telling children to \u2018get off your phone\u2019 doesn\u2019t really work,\u201d Nagata added. \u201cParents can lead by example with open, nonjudgmental conversations about screen use. Setting screen-free times for the whole family, such as during meals or before bed, can help build healthier digital habits for everyone, including adults.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:11px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsf.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/430011\/yes-social-media-might-be-making-kids-depressed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">University of California San Francisco<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As youth depression and suicide rates rise alarmingly, a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco sheds light on the substantial role social media plays in contributing to these mental health issues. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, reveal that increased social media use among preteens correlates with higher depressive symptoms over time. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,17],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-24829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health","category-tech","tag-university-of-california-san-francisco"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"As youth depression and suicide rates rise alarmingly, a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco sheds light on the substantial role social media plays in contributing to these mental health issues. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, reveal that increased social media use among preteens correlates with higher depressive symptoms over time.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24829"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24846,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24829\/revisions\/24846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}