The Relationship of Social Networking and Depression in Adolescents

At what point can the abusive use of social networks lead to depression?

First, it should be made clear that the relationship between social networks and depression is not always cause-effect, i.e., using social networks does not directly cause depression. We could say that it is something that feeds back, if we start from a base in which there are certain emotional problems that are not resolved and, in addition, there is an abuse of social networks, this can be a factor that aggravates the whole problem.

When can we consider that there is really a problem with the use of social networks or the Internet in general?

When we see that the person, apart from spending many hours consuming this type of content, stops doing other activities that previously performed, stops interacting with other people to be connected to social networks. Basically, when we see that the source of pleasure of that person is focused on the consumption of social networks and, on the other hand, neglects the other aspects of his life, has a drop in school performance and there are even changes in his attitude.

Why is addiction to social networks dangerous for a teenager?

The alarming thing is that when there is an unresolved problem or there is some kind of family or personal problem, instead of facing it, the adolescent uses the RRSS as a method of evasion, since in the RRSS we find many positive reinforcements. For example, I post a photo and I get a like. It is a way of relating virtually with other people, there is a plot that causes some pleasure, but at the same time I am leaving to solve a problem I have in my real life to be connected and can be gradually creating a dependency. This dependence is a problem, since sometimes an idyllic life is projected on social networks that is not true and young people tend to compare themselves a lot. Therefore, social networks can also be a great source of frustration.

What are the main indicators that allow a family to detect if their child has depression?

There is no isolated sign that tells us that the adolescent may suffer from depression. There are different areas:

• Behavior: the person stops doing activities that he/she used to do or is more apathetic. They may also show more antisocial or disruptive behaviors (such as being more irritable or aggressive), use drugs, etc.
• At a cognitive level: they find it more difficult to concentrate, their thinking “slows down”, they may find it more difficult to make decisions, etc.
• At the physiological level: there may be situations of excessive increase or reduction of appetite. In addition, they usually have sleep disturbances, either by oversleeping or sleeping worse (insomnia).

Normally, when there is a more or less sudden change in behavior and there are several of the elements mentioned above, it is a moment when the alarm bells may ring.

Once it has been detected that the adolescent suffers from depression linked to social networks, what are the techniques for dealing with depression and addiction?

Both in the case of addiction and depression, the main therapy is psychological therapy with a specialist in Psychology. In addition to therapy, psychiatric-pharmacological treatment can help to treat these pathologies.

Likewise, at the Brain 360 Institute we apply the technique of non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), an advanced therapy in the field of neuroscience that through electromagnetic impulses modulates the activity of certain areas of the cerebral cortex in a non-invasive way. It is known that certain areas of the brain do not function correctly when the person suffers from a mental health problem; thus, by stimulating these areas through TMS, we can help to restore their normal functioning and thus contribute to the clinical improvement of patients.