Citation

George M. J. Adolesc. Health 2019; 65(1): 9-10.

Affiliation

Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.04.022

PMID

31229057

Abstract

Rates of depression, self-harm, and suicide among adolescents in the United States have steadily increased over the last 10 or so years, particularly among adolescent girls [1, 2]. Smartphones and social media have been labeled by some as a “likely culprit” of the drop-off in well-being among young people with the reasoning that young people are engaging with their phones instead of engaging with their parents and peers, leading to social isolation, depression, and potentially suicide [3, 4]. Although time spent online may play a role for some adolescents, research suggests that there are null, mixed, or very small associations between time spent online and mental health problems for most adolescents [5, 6]. Instead, it is more likely that what teens post and view online is linked to their risk for depression and self-harm, especially for groups of vulnerable adolescents.

Co-construction theory tells us that adolescents' posts on social media are likely to reflect their offline attitudes and behaviors [7]. This means that adolescents who frequently promote self-harm material on social media are likely at risk for engaging in those behaviors offline. Social cognitive theory and transformation approaches argue that the content of what adolescents see online, such as public and friends' posts, may also have an impact on their offline thoughts and feelings [8, 9]. In the context of self-harm, adolescents whose online peers are posting frequently about self-harm may view these behaviors as more normative or positive. Research also suggests that adolescents are not equally affected by online content [10, 11]. In particular, adolescents who are already vulnerable, such as those suffering from depression, may have stronger reactions to exposure to peers' posts about self-harm or suicide, especially if those posts are seen as promoting those behaviors. Thus, online posts about self-harm may be reliable indicators of adolescents who suffer from mental health problems, and frequently viewing others' posts about self-harm may exacerbate existing offline problems.

Language: en