CHICAGO (AP) — Add "Facebook depression" to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.
Researchers disagree on whether it's simply an
extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct
condition linked with using the online site.
But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can
make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already
dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area
pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media
guidelines.
With in-your-face friends' tallies, status updates
and photos of happy-looking people having great times, Facebook pages can make
some kids feel even worse if they think they don't measure up.
It can be more painful than sitting alone in a
crowded school cafeteria or other real-life encounters that can make kids feel
down, O'Keeffe said, because Facebook provides a skewed view of what's really
going on. Online, there's no way to see facial expressions or read body
language that provide context.
The guidelines urge pediatricians to encourage
parents to talk with their kids about online use and to be aware of Facebook
depression, cyberbullying, sexting and other online risks. They were published
online Monday in Pediatrics.
Abby Abolt, 16, a Chicago high school sophomore and
frequent Facebook user, says the site has never made her feel depressed, but
that she can understand how it might affect some kids.
"If you really didn't have that many friends
and weren't really doing much with your life, and saw other peoples' status
updates and pictures and what they were doing with friends, I could see how
that would make them upset," she said.
Also, it's common among some teens to post snotty
or judgmental messages on the Facebook walls of people they don't like, said
Gaby Navarro, 18, a senior from Grayslake, Ill. It's happened to her friends,
and she said she could imagine how that could make some teens feel depressed.
"Parents should definitely know" about
these practices," Navarro said. "It's good to raise awareness about
it."
The academy guidelines note that online harassment
"can cause profound psychosocial outcomes," including suicide. The
widely publicized suicide of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl last year
occurred after she'd been bullied and harassed, in person and on Facebook.
"Facebook is where all the teens are hanging
out now. It's their corner store," O'Keeffe said.
She said the benefits of kids using social media
sites like Facebook shouldn't be overlooked, however, such as connecting with
friends and family, sharing pictures and exchanging ideas.
"A lot of what's happening is actually very
healthy, but it can go too far," she said.
Dr. Megan Moreno, a University of Wisconsin
adolescent medicine specialist who has studied online social networking among
college students, said using Facebook can enhance feelings of social
connectedness among well-adjusted kids, and have the opposite effect on those
prone to depression.
Parents shouldn't get the idea that using Facebook
"is going to somehow infect their kids with depression," she said.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
