A clinical report released last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics makes the claim that “researchers have proposed a new condition called ‘Facebook depression.’”
It develops “when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression,” according to the report.
The catchy new condition got the report plenty of media attention. Trouble is, it’s a made-up condition.
After examining the report’s related references, speaking with the report’s lead author and talking to the lead author of one of the research studies that the claim is based on, I’ve concluded that the diagnosis of Facebook depression is a nonexistent condition.
Of course, people can become depressed when they encounter depressing content on Facebook, but that would be true in any venue. Why not create conditions like school depression, playground depression or home depression?
Report co-author Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe told me that the diagnosis was based partially on a study by Professor Joanne Davila from Stony Brook University. But when I spoke with Davila, she emphatically insisted that her study had nothing to do with Facebook depression.
Instead it focused on “whether depression in adolescents predicts risky sexual activity and risky romantic relationships.”
The rest of the report’s evidence for this so-called condition is equally irrelevant. Most of the citations are news reports.
One citation from a student newspaper was written by a college freshman linguistics student who simply observed that 18.2 percent of the students at her college are depressed, and therefore “Out of every 100 (Facebook) friends you have, 18 to 19 of them probably are depressed.”
The academic studies cited have nothing to do with the issue of Facebook depression. O’Keeffe said that “Facebook depression” was also based on clinical observations, but they were not documented.
The study doesn’t cite any conflicting research, such as a relevant recent study from Cornell University that showed that Facebook can boost young people’s self-esteem.
In an interview, O’Keefe defended her conclusion, but also admitted that this so-called condition “affects a small group of kids.” “Facebook is really a magnifier. You’re not going to catch something on Facebook, but Facebook tends to amplify any of our insecurities or anything we’re feeling good about,” she said.
Unfortunately, these qualifiers weren’t included in the clinical report.
Dr. John M. Grohol, founder and editor-in-chief of PsychCentral.com posted a scathing analysis of the report, calling it “shoddy research” that doesn’t “differentiate between correlation and causation.”