Docs Warn About Facebook Use, Teen Depression

Add “Facebook depression” to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors’ group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.

Researchers disagree on whether it is simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site.

But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) social media guidelines.

With in-your-face friends’ tallies, status updates, and photos of happy-looking people having great times, Facebook pages can make some kids feel even worse if they think they do not measure up.

It can be more painful than sitting alone in a crowded school cafeteria or other real-life encounters that can make kids feel down, Dr O’Keeffe said, because Facebook provides a skewed view of what is really going on. Online, there is no way to see facial expressions or read body language that provide context.

The guidelines were published in the April edition of Pediatrics.

According to a Common Sense Media poll from August 2009, 22 percent of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than ten times a day, and more than half of adolescents log on to a social media site more than once a day. Seventy-five percent of teens now own cellphones, and 25 percent use them for social media, 54 percent for texting, and 24 percent for instant messaging.

The new AAP guidelines include recommendations for pediatricians to help families navigate the social media landscape, including:

*Advise parents to talk to children and adolescents about their online use and the specific issues that today’s online kids face, such as cyberbullying, sexting, and difficulty managing their time.

*Advise parents to work on their own “participation gap” in their homes by becoming better educated about the many technologies their children are using.

*Discuss with families the need for a family online-use plan, with an emphasis on citizenship and healthy behavior.

*Discuss with parents the importance of supervising online activities via active participation and communication, not just via monitoring software.

The AAP report outlines the positive effects of social media. Engagement in social media and online communities can enhance communication, facilitate social interaction, and help develop technical skills.

They can help tweens and teens discover opportunities to engage in the community by volunteering, and can help youth shape their sense of identity. These tools also can be useful adjuncts to — and in some cases are replacing — traditional learning methods in the classroom.

But because tweens and teens have a limited capacity for self-regulation and are susceptible to peer pressure, they are at some risk as they engage in and experiment with social media, according to the report. They can find themselves on sites and in situations that are not age-appropriate, and research suggests that the content of some social media sites can influence youth to engage in risky behaviors.

In addition, social media provides venues for cyberbullying and sexting, among other dangers. Youth who are more at-risk offline tend to also be more at-risk online.

The academy guidelines note that online harassment “can cause profound psychosocial outcomes,” including suicide. The widely publicized suicide of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl last year occurred after she had been bullied and harassed, in person and on Facebook.

“Facebook is where all the teens are hanging out now. It’s their corner store,” Dr O’Keeffe said.

She said the benefits of kids using social media sites like Facebook should not be overlooked, however, such as connecting with friends and family, sharing pictures, and exchanging ideas.

“A lot of what’s happening is actually very healthy, but it can go too far,” she said.

Dr Megan Moreno, a University of Wisconsin adolescent medicine specialist who has studied online social networking among college students, said using Facebook can enhance feelings of social connectedness among well-adjusted kids, and have the opposite effect on those prone to depression.

Parents should not get the idea that using Facebook “is going to somehow infect their kids with depression,” she said.

Associated Press content was used in this report.