(2019) Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Q: How did social media use relate to depressive symptoms by gender?

The association was larger for girls than boys; compared with 1–3 hours daily, 3 to less than 5 hours linked to a 26% increase for girls and 21% for boys, while 5 or more hours linked to a 50% increase for girls and 35% for boys.

Q: What pathways explained the link between social media use and depressive symptoms?

Greater social media use related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem, and poor body image, which in turn related to higher depressive symptom scores.

Q: What specific pathway involving body image was identified?

Adolescents using social media 5 or more hours daily were 31% more likely to report body weight dissatisfaction, which was associated with 15% higher depressive symptom scores directly and indirectly via self-esteem.

Q: What did the authors conclude about the implications?

The authors highlighted potential pitfalls of lengthy social media use for young people's mental health and noted relevance for guidelines and industry regulation of usage hours.

Plain English Summary

Summary written for general audiences

Researchers analyzed data from 10,904 14-year-olds in the UK Millennium Cohort Study using multivariate regression and path models. The association between social media use and depressive symptoms was larger for girls than for boys. Compared with 1–3 h of daily use, 3 to <5 h was linked to a 26% increase in scores for girls and 21% for boys, while ≥5 h was linked to a 50% increase for girls and 35% for boys. Greater social media use related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem and poor body image, which in turn related to higher depressive symptom scores.

Why This Matters

The authors concluded that the findings highlight the potential pitfalls of lengthy social media use for young people's mental health. They noted the results are highly relevant for developing guidelines for safe social media use and for calls on industry to more tightly regulate hours of use.

Cite This Study

Kelly Y, Zilanawala A, Booker C, Sacker A. (2019) Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (2019). (2019) Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Show BibTeX

@article{kelly_y_zilanawala_a_booker_c_sacker_a_2019_social_media_use_and_adolescent_mental_health_findings_from_the_uk_millennium_cohort_study_ce4760,
  author = {Kelly Y and Zilanawala A and Booker C and Sacker A. (2019) Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study},
  title = {(2019) Social media use and adolescent mental health: Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study},
  year = {2019},
  doi = {10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.12.005},
  
}

DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2018.12.005 PubMed: 31193561

Quick Questions About This Study

Researchers analyzed data from 10,904 14-year-olds in the UK Millennium Cohort Study using multivariate regression and path models.

The association was larger for girls than boys; compared with 1–3 hours daily, 3 to less than 5 hours linked to a 26% increase for girls and 21% for boys, while 5 or more hours linked to a 50% increase for girls and 35% for boys.

Greater social media use related to online harassment, poor sleep, low self-esteem, and poor body image, which in turn related to higher depressive symptom scores.

Adolescents using social media 5 or more hours daily were 31% more likely to report body weight dissatisfaction, which was associated with 15% higher depressive symptom scores directly and indirectly via self-esteem.

The authors highlighted potential pitfalls of lengthy social media use for young people's mental health and noted relevance for guidelines and industry regulation of usage hours.