Social Media and Depression

Depression used to be something that would happen because of different life events, hormonal imbalances or even the weather. Now added into the mix is something that we rarely think has a very powerful hold over our emotions - social media.

With the rise of social media outlets such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, we have become more plugged in than ever. And with this connection, we now see what others are thinking, doing, and have done with the click of a button or cell phone. And with the explosion of social media, some studies have suggested that these social media outlets have contributed to depression.

These online communities have given rise to online bullying and social comparison. Since young people continue to post information and interact online, this never ending contact is the perfect breeding ground for conflict and misunderstanding. Reports of suicide intervention and psychologist visits, with the blame on social media, have increased.

The need for youth's ability to unplug from social media is drastically needed. Another idea to help with this is to get parent's more involved with how much time their kids spend on social media and what they view, and seriously contemplate whether getting a smart phone (that they can use the internet with), is a good idea or not.