Social Networking Exacerbates Depression and Anxiety in Teens
July 15th, 2010
Logging off can make a big difference for teenagers affected by depression, anxiety, self esteem issues, and bullying, says Maggie Dent, a children’s issues specialist from Australia. Studies have shown that social networking sites aggravate depressive symptoms in teenage girls. They’re also a forum for bullying, a trigger of addictive tendencies, and an arena for comparing one’s self unfavorably to others. Therapy is one avenue of treatment, especially for depression and anxiety. But Dent believes that spending time offline can also have a big impact. Spending time alone with one’s own thoughts helps adolescents, and even adults, establish a stronger sense of self identity, which especially in teenage years, can help deter against social anxiety and self-esteem issues.
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social networking by itself may not be bad for teens.but the over-dependence and addiction to it is what may be bad for them.I see teens spending hours together on social networking sites on their computers and cell phones,its very worrying.
Really? I would have thought that social networking sites would give many kids an avenue for establishing new friendships beyond what they may have at school and may have been a good way for them to determine other interests and to meet new people who may could help them with issues that they could be facing. I am not saying that surfing the web is something that they need to be doing all of the time but I did think that maybe it could provide an outlet for them and a way for them to experience life that hopefully they could enjoy that was apart from what they already experience outside of home and school.
^^ Yes, it does help a child find new friends and be in touch with them. But what it also does is cut off the child from the real world for long periods, thereby causing irrepairable damage.
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