A new study has identified a long term link between the rise of social media and a decline in young peoples’ mental health.
Economic research organisation e61 Institute used Government data. It analysed mental health trends of Australian men and women from 2001 to 2022.
It found that mental health levels worsened across the board. However, young women experienced a steeper decline in mental health than men.
Here’s what else it found.
Background
The e61 study analysed Government data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (HILDA).
HILDA has been conducting annual interviews with the same group of 17,000 Australians and their families since 2001. Respondents are asked about things like finances, their social life, and physical and mental health.
Research found a link between social media exposure and declining mental health in young people aged 15 to 24.
Social media and mental health
HILDA found that mental health started to decline more rapidly in 15 to 24-year-olds from 2010.
The e61 report points out that this was around the same time that social media platforms including Instagram and Snapchat were becoming increasingly popular.
It said young women reported the highest levels of social media use, and “much lower levels of mental health and friendship connections than their male counterparts and other generations”.
Mental health rates among 15 to 24 year olds from 2001 to 2022:
Isolation
Researchers also analysed HILDA findings on loneliness and isolation.
The e61 study refers to this as the ‘Friendship Index’, where people were asked to rate if they felt they had a lot of friends, or not many.
It found a strong correlation between ”lower mental health” and “social isolation as measured through friendship connections”.
