Online communication strongly linked to both depression and anxiety in girls
A new study by scientists at the University of Iceland School of Education has uncovered a significant link between online communication and symptoms of depression and anxiety in 15 year old girls. Findings from the study, which explored developments in young people's mental health in the early 21st century, were published in an article in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
Óttar Guðbjörn Birgisson, adjunct lecturer and PhD student at the Faculty of Health Promotion, Sports and Leisure Studies in the School of Education is the first author of the article, entitled "The relationship between online communication and adolescents' mental health: Long-term evaluation between genders."
Óttar graduated with an MS in clinical psychology in 2016 and worked for many years as a psychologist at the health care centre in Seltjarnarnes, before embarking on a PhD at the School of Education in the autumn of 2021.
"My doctoral thesis explores changes to adolescents' mental health in the early 21st century and how online communication, such as social media, affects mental health. I am also looking at the factors that could play a role in this relationship between mental health and internet use, primarily things like physical activity, fitness, body image, self esteem and so forth. Finally, we plan to investigate whether the amount of time that 15 year old adolescents spend on social media could be predictive of mental health at the age of 17," explains Óttar. His supervisors are Erlingur Jóhannsson, professor of Sport Sciences and Public Health, and Sunna Gestsdóttir, associate professor in the same field.
Online communication has become a ubiquitous part of modern life and evidence suggests it could have a negative impact on the mental health of children and adolescents. "This article looks at how online communication and symptoms of depression and anxiety have developed among adolescents aged 15 over the period 2003-2015. It also evaluates whether the link itself between online communication and these symptoms has changed over the years. The results showed that boys and girls spent an equal amount of time on online communication in 2003, but by 2015 girls were spending significantly more time. In 2003, girls experienced significantly higher levels of anxiety than boys; this did not increase during the period. Girls experienced significantly higher levels of depression than boys in 2003 and this increased during the period in girls, but not in boys. In 2003, there was no statistically significant link between online communication and mental health but by 2015, there was a significant link between online communication and both depression and anxiety in girls."
What new knowledge have your findings revealed?
"Generally speaking, screen use and online communication among young people have increased dramatically over recent decades. So research like this is vital and highly relevant to the lives of young people in our society. We need more research looking into the impact of online communication on mental health in young people and gender differences in this context," explains Óttar, adding that there is also a lack of quality research comparing the extent of online communication and its impact on mental health. The aforementioned study explores these issues at two points in time: 2003, when social media and online communication was in its infancy, and 12 years later in 2015, by which point almost everyone in Iceland had a smartphone.
"The findings of this study show that spending a lot of time communicating online can have a serious impact on the health and wellbeing of young people. In this context, it is also clear that the relationship between online communication and mental health is a complex topic and there are many aspects that require further research. Nevertheless, it is clear that health and education authorities need to respond and give more consideration to the health of young people," concludes Óttar.
