In the early 2000s, social media was a baby. Cut to now, Statista (2023) predicts there should be around six billion social media users worldwide by 2027. While such rapid growth makes it difficult for research to keep up, there’s no doubt about at least one thing: In the two decades since social media has taken off, mental health and suicide rates have increased, especially among young people (Twenge et al., 2019). Is this a direct result of social media and its emphasis on sharing only that which will show others only what people desire to be seen as? Who knows.

Thankfully, those who advocate for science to inform are persistent. Research is helping us better understand the complicated interaction of mental health and social media. For example, social networking doesn’t trigger depression or anxiety for everyone, but it does for many. So let’s look at why and how so that we can think about personalized ways to improve our mindsets or moods if needed.

Many suspected that "time spent" on social media was the culprit of rising depression rates. However, studies have yet to be able to back that with consistency (Cunningham, Hudson, & Harkness, 2021). So researchers started looking at more nuanced explanations. Beyond time spent, research began to look at the connection between social media and a user’s emotional investment, addiction-like relationship, FoMO (fear of missing out) experiences, and passive vs. active use.

Emotional investment: Are you or someone you love known as a “passionate” person? If so, does that also apply to investing in what goes on online? To check, maybe notice if online antics and exchanges sway your........

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