More Social Media, More Depression.

ISLAMABAD -- Young adults who spend hours a day on social media are at heightened risk of developing depression in the near future, new research suggests.

In recent years, a number of studies have linked heavy social media use to an increased risk of depression.

"But then you have to ask the chicken-and-egg question," said study author Dr. Brian Primack, a professor of public health at the University of Arkansas, in Fayetteville.

On one hand, he said, excessive time on Twitter or Facebook might fuel depression symptoms.

On the other, people with depression might withdraw from face-to-face interactions and spend more time online.

So Primack and his colleagues decided to see whether social media use made a difference in young adults 'risk of future depression.

It did, according to their report, which was published online Dec. 10 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The study included nearly 1,000 adults aged 18 to 30 who were depression free at the outset, based on a standard questionnaire.

All reported on their usual social media time and were assessed for depression again six months later. By that time, nearly 10% fit the criteria for depression. Overall, depression risk rose in tandem with time spent on social media.

Compared with the lightest users (2 hours or less per day), the heaviest users (at least 5 hours per day) had a three times higher depression risk.

Meanwhile, that risk was two times higher among young adults who were active on social media around 3.5 to 5 hours per day.

Primack noted that the findings do not definitively prove cause and effect.

However, he added, his team accounted for factors like people's education level, income, race and whether they were employed.

They also asked participants whether they'd experienced childhood traumas like physical abuse and emotional neglect, which are also risk factors for depression.

Even then, excessive time on social media...