Social Media: A Harsher Reality for Adolescents with Depression

Social media use is often highlighted as an important cause of the recent rise in depression among adolescents. However, this perspective overlooks a crucial reverse causality, namely that levels of depression might also shape adolescents’ social media use. In a diary study among 479 adolescents (Mage = 15.98; 16.9% clinically depressed), we assessed their level of depression and then monitored their social media activities and experiences daily for 100 subsequent days. Depressed adolescents did not differ from their non-depressed peers in the frequency of posting and the time spent scrolling. However, they reported feeling twice as insecure after scrolling, nearly twice as rejected during online communication with friends, and significantly more preoccupied with feedback. Our findings underscore the need for further research into the mechanisms of how depressive symptoms influence adolescents’ social media experiences, to inform the development of effective digital tools and therapeutic approaches to support adolescent mental health.