They only found one: Snapchat users with other news sources had a lower risk of depressive symptoms. They checked whether there were any contextual influences that might factor in, such as other news sources, social supports, and frequency of in-person social interactions. Moreover, they found that for TikTok and Snapchat, the greater risk existed only for users above age 35, and for Facebook, it was only for those under 35. They found that three of the eight social media apps - Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok - were associated with a greater risk of increased depressive symptoms. The researchers then went looking for a pattern among those 482.

Of the 5,400 who scored less than 5 points the first time (considered “minimal depression”), 482 had an increase of 5 or more points on their second PHQ-9. Study participants were asked to fill out the PHQ-9 twice, at least a month apart. The higher the PHQ-9 score, the more severe the signs of depression. The assessment asks nine questions about specific symptoms and assigns 0–3 points per question, depending on how often the patient exhibits each symptom. They surveyed the study participants on which of eight social media sites and apps they used and also asked participants to complete a commonly used assessment of whether someone is showing signs of depression, called the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (or PHQ-9). The researchers recruited 8,000 people on the internet to participate in the study. Spoiler: The researchers found some specific correlations, but they raise many more questions than they answer. This weekend’s “long read” is a study by Massachusetts General Hospital and 10 academic partners trying to determine if there is a link between social media use and depression.

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