The correlation between social media usage and depression

Social media usage is at its prime and evidence that it causes/exacerbates depression has been increasing. An increase in social media usage leads to spending less time on daily tasks such as real-life interactions and self-reflection, which are essential for individuals, potentially causing depressive symptoms. Primarily negative interactions, problematic social media use and social comparisons have been the cause of these negative associations. However, novel studies have shown no negative associations between social media and depression.Certain social media platforms are also considered to be beneficial and have shown to improve overall user well-being. The association between social media usage and depression includes several factors, and no single factor can solely determine the causality or exacerbation of depressive symptoms.This review focuses on the associations between social media usage and depression among young adults and adolescents. In particular, it illustrates the different types of social media uses and their negative impacts. It also illuminates how baseline depression levels have been exacerbated due to increased social media usage, and how actively using social media can cause depression.