CHICAGO \u2014 An increase in suicide rates among U. S. teens occurred at the same time social media use surged and a new analysis suggests there may be a…<\/b>
\nCHICAGO \u2014 An increase in suicide rates among U. S. teens occurred at the same time social media use surged and a new analysis suggests there may be a link.
Suicide rates for teens rose between 2010 and 2015 after they had declined for nearly two decades, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why the rates went up isn\u2019t known.
The study doesn\u2019t answer the question, but it suggests that one factor could be rising social media use. Recent teen suicides have been blamed on cyberbullying, and social media posts depicting \u201cperfect\u201d lives may be taking a toll on teens\u2019 mental health, researchers say.
\u201cAfter hours of scrolling through Instagram feeds, I just feel worse about myself because I feel left out,\u201d said Caitlin Hearty, a 17-year-old Littleton, Colorado, high school senior who helped organize an offline campaign last month after several local teen suicides.
\u201cNo one posts the bad things they\u2019re going through,\u201d said Chloe Schilling, also 17, who helped with the campaign, in which hundreds of teens agreed not to use the internet or social media for one month.
The study\u2019s authors looked at CDC suicide reports from 2009-15 and results of two surveys given to U. S. high school students to measure attitudes, behaviors and interests. About half a million teens ages 13 to 18 were involved. They were asked about use of electronic devices, social media, print media, television and time spent with friends. Questions about mood included frequency of feeling hopeless and considering or attempting suicide.
The researchers didn\u2019t examine circumstances surrounding individual suicides. Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said the study provides weak evidence for a popular theory and that many factors influence teen suicide.
The study was published Tuesday in the journal Clinical Psychological Science .
Data highlighted in the study include:
\u201cWe need to stop thinking of smartphones as harmless,\u201d said study author Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies generational trends. \u201cThere\u2019s a tendency to say, \u2018Oh, teens are just communicating with their friends.\u2019 Monitoring kids\u2019 use of smartphones and social media is important, and so is setting reasonable limits, she said.
Dr. Victor Strasburger, a teen medicine specialist at the University of New Mexico, said the study only implies a connection between teen suicides, depression and social media. It shows the need for more research on new technology, Strasburger said.
He noted that skeptics who think social media is being unfairly criticized compare it with so-called vices of past generations: \u201cWhen dime-store books came out, when comic books came out, when television came out, when rock and roll first started, people were saying \u2018This is the end of the world.’\u201d
With its immediacy, anonymity, and potential for bullying, social media has a unique potential for causing real harm, he said.
\u201cParents don\u2019t really get that,\u201d Strasburger said.<\/p>\n

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