The reason you might be feeling anxious or depressed right now could have its foundation on your social media activities.
Medical News Today’s new research concluded that the teenagers who frequently use social media invest a lot of emotions in their social media content, therefore suffer from poor quality sleep, lower self-esteem and show higher rates of depression or anxiety, compared to teenagers who are not as eagerly engaged in social media.
The study found that most of the social media teenagers who suffer from depression and anxiety are night persons, while noting the most popular social media sites that are inducing addictions are Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, asked 470 teenagers addicted to social media to complete a questionnaire about their self-esteem, sleep quality, anxiety and depression.
The participants, who were all between 11 and 17 years old and students at the same school, also had to answer questions related to the amount of time they are spending on social medias in a typical day. They were also asked how much time they are spending on their favorite social media sites after planning to sleep.
Although the questionnaire’s results were solely based on self-descriptions, the team of researchers at the University of Glasgow stressed that the participants’ answers depicted credible data.
The leader of the study explained that the reason why intensive social media is not good for the emotional health is that it pressures teenagers to be available online at all times. This pressure may lead to the feeling of “missing out,” which can cause anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation.
The sleep quality of teenagers who log on at night tends to be affected to a greater degree than those who use social media during daytime. This is particularly true in the case of the individuals who are emotionally invested into their favorite sites.
The Anxiety and depression Association of America claims that anxiety disorders and depression are different. Nevertheless, depressive individuals tend to experience symptoms that are relatively similar to those with anxiety disorders. Some of these symptoms include: irritability, an overall state of nervousness, problems in sleeping, and lack of concentration.
The organization stated that “anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric illnesses,” as they tend to affect both teenagers and grown-ups. The current statistics say that nearly 40 million American adults suffer from anxiety disorders. Even though these disorders are easily treatable in most cases, only one-third of the sufferers receive treatment, due to the cryptic traits of some of its symptoms.
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