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A new study has found a direct link between Facebook use and “worsening” reports of anxiety and depression among college students.
of ResearchA study published by the American Economic Review found that in the first two and a half years of the platform’s existence, college students who had an account on the site were 7 percent more likely to experience depression and 20 percent more likely to have an illness. Anxiety.
Facebook’s initial 2004 rollout was a surprise, with Harvard students gaining access first, followed by Columbia, Stanford and Yale universities. Researchers used medical data from these campuses to compare their mental health surveys with mental health surveys from college campuses without access to the platform.
Despite hundreds of studies showing a link between social media use and declining mental health, researchers say their unique methodology allowed them to confirm the link.
A study by Roe Levy of Tel Aviv University suggests that “unfair social comparisons” may be the cause of anxiety and depression in young people.
“Today, as we know, we are all very familiar with social media platforms. They create jealousy, and users have a hard time understanding that what they see online doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. 16-18 years ago, when the phenomenon was completely new,” Levy told Channel 12 News.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes questions from members of the media as the crowd looks on on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 7, 2011. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
“The results seem to be increasing over time,” he said Alexei Makarin, an assistant professor at MIT Sloan, is another contributor to the study
“In late 2004, if a Harvard freshman had access to Facebook for one semester and a sophomore for two semesters, the results would appear to be the more vulnerable sophomores,” McCarrin told the MIT Sloan website. .
McCarrin initially viewed mental health as “one more” aspect of social media use, but after completing his research, he reflected, “I realized how bad it was and that stuck with me.”
“This paper, or any insights others can provide about what’s behind this trend, will be very valuable to society,” he said.
From the year Center for Disease ControlIn the year The suicide rate among youth ages 10 to 24 was stable from 2000 to 2007, then increased 57 percent between 2007 and 2017.
Today, Facebook has 2.5 billion daily users. More than half of the world’s 4.3 billion people have at least one social media account.
According to a study by the American Economic Review, by 2021, the average user will spend two and a half hours a day on social media.
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