And a new study from the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University finds that social media use—or at least negative experiences on social—is linked to more feelings of social isolation, a.k.a. ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENTThe team had previously reported that in college students, negative social media experiences were linked to depression: for every 10% rise in negative social media interactions a person experienced, their risk of depression rose significantly—by 20%. As always, it’s likely that the connection goes both ways: that in addition to social media leading to depressive symptoms, people who are already depressed may be more likely to use social media, or have negative experiences with it. “So, positive experiences on social media may be associated with fleeting positive reinforcement, while negative experiences -- such as public social media arguments -- may rapidly escalate and leave a lasting, potentially traumatic impression. It also may be that socially isolated people lean toward social media use that involves negative interactions.

Source: Forbes January 24, 2019 18:45 UTC