Scientists have found a link between long-term use of social networks and depression

Daily use of social media for more than 2.5 hours is associated with a higher likelihood of depression. The researchers emphasize that the work has revealed a stable connection, but does not prove that it is social networks that cause depression. How scientists came to this conclusion, why exactly the 2.5 hour mark turned out to be important and what else affects mental health, is in the Izvestia article.

Why exactly 2.5 hours became an important mark

The study by the University of Cincinnati and Northwestern University is published in the journal npj Mental Health Research (MHR). The authors analyzed 183,300 anonymized questionnaires from adults aged 18 to 70 years. The sample included data for the period from 2014 to 2025, which made it possible to track how stable the link between social media use and depression has been for a long time.

For the analysis, the scientists used a machine learning model. She assessed the impact of more than 1.3 thousand different lifestyle and health indicators, including work, education, physical activity, TV watching, Internet use, and video games. The researchers then compared which factors were most strongly associated with self-reported symptoms of depression.

It turned out that the most pronounced association was observed in people who spent at least 150 minutes a day on social media, that is, about 2.5 hours. This pattern was repeated every year of the study. At the same time, social media turned out to be a stronger predictor of self-assessment of depression than many other habits.

It is important to note that the study is observational in nature. It shows a statistical link between prolonged use of social media and depression, but it does not allow us to conclude that one necessarily causes the other. It is possible that people with pre-existing depressive symptoms themselves are more likely to spend more time on social media.

In the risk network: how social media affects adolescent health

Not all screen time is the same

One of the most interesting results was a comparison of different digital habits. The researchers found that it was the use of social media that was more closely associated with depression than many other forms of screen time. Watching TV, regular internet surfing, or playing video games did not show the same sustained association.

According to the authors, this may be explained by the peculiarities of modern social platforms: if previously they served primarily as a way to communicate with friends and relatives, today users spend a significant part of their time watching content created by strangers and recommendation algorithms. This format of information consumption differs significantly from traditional communication.

However, the researchers do not claim that any social media is equally harmful. The work did not compare individual platforms and did not analyze exactly what users were doing: texting with loved ones, reading the news, or endlessly scrolling through the recommended feed. Therefore, scientists cannot say which specific usage scenarios are associated with a higher risk.

In recent years, the results of such studies have remained ambiguous. For example, one recent study showed that simply limiting time on social media to 30-60 minutes a day did not significantly improve psychological well-being in most young adults. The authors explained this by the fact that it was extremely difficult for the participants to comply with the established limit.

From "What I eat in a day" to fast food: how social media is changing the diet of teenagers

Why don't scientists advise just deleting social networks yet?

The authors of the new paper believe that the results obtained primarily emphasize the need to pay more attention to digital habits. They suggest not so much to completely abandon social networks, as to consciously control the time spent on them. Possible ways include disabling notifications, using built—in screen time timers, and logging out of accounts after the session ends to reduce the likelihood of uncontrolled scrolling.

At the same time, researchers admit that it is not easy to completely abandon social networks today. For many, they remain an important part of communication, work, and getting information. That is why experts speak more about the need to understand the potential risks of overuse than about the complete abandonment of digital platforms.

In addition, the development of depression is influenced by many factors: heredity, chronic stress, physical health, life circumstances and social support. Time spent on social media is just one element of this complex picture. Therefore, the researchers urge not to consider the 2.5 hour mark as a universal boundary between "safe" and "dangerous" use.

The authors hope that in the future such work will help to better understand which features of the use of social networks really increase the risk of mental disorders, and which, on the contrary, can contribute to maintaining social connections and emotional well-being.