Instagram 'ranked worst for mental health' in teen survey

Conclusion This timely report should be welcomed, given that almost all young people use social media, and it undoubtedly can affect their wellbeing. It also offers well-considered recommendations. However, the study does have some limitations. Researchers gauged the potential positive and negative effects of different social media platforms by asking young people to answer whether they felt better or worse by using them. This can't prove that social media is directly responsible for increasing rates of depression and anxiety. It's difficult to explore all the various ways the social media sites may make people feel better or worse. It could be that it's dependent on the content and subject matter people are viewing or participating in. For example, sites like YouTube and Twitter may have been generally rated more positively because individuals were mostly viewing things more removed from their immediate lives, such as celebrity figures, or amusing or interesting video clips, whereas Facebook, Snapchat or Instagram tend to involve friends and family, and be more directly related to their users' lives.  And there will be various forms of "negative" content available on YouTube, so it shouldn't be concluded too strongly that this is necessarily "better" or "safer" than all other platforms. It would be valuable to further explore why certain platforms could have different effects on wellbeing. The report raises important questions, and we have...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Mental health Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news