Social Isolation, Social Media Use, and the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis: Exploring the Interaction of Risk Factors on Depression

Background Adolescence is a critical developmental period. Unfortunately, the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, has declared teen mental health as a state of emergency. During this time, social connections and peer interactions play a crucial role in adolescent well-being. Methods In order to investigate potential risk factors for adolescent mental health outcomes such as depression, we ran hierarchical multiple regression models to explore the potential significant associations between both social media use and social isolation on depression symptoms. This was a cross-sectional study employing a large sample of teens from urban and rural schools across Southern Idaho (n=8,407 mean age=14.6). We then ran an interaction model to determine a potential interaction effect between social isolation and social media use on depression. Results We found that both social media use and social isolation were significantly associated with depression outcomes. Social isolation had a larger effect, accounting for a difference of 4.84 in depression scores for every one unit change in social isolation (p<0.001). The interaction effect was significant. Discussion Although it is common for adults to point to social media use as a main risk factor for teen depression, experiencing social isolation poses greater risk. Additionally, findings suggest that the impact of social media use on depression depends on an adolescent’s level of social isolation. Conclusion Professionals who want to ameliorate the teen mental health crisis may need to focus attention on increasing social connection for adolescents they serve.