I’m a graduate student in sociology, and I’ve just started a research project on the impact of social media on mental health among college students. I spent the last few years away from academia after my undergrad, so I feel like I’m playing catch-up with a lot of the recent studies and debates. This topic feels urgent to me because I’ve watched my younger siblings scroll through TikTok for hours, and I can’t tell if my concerns are backed by solid data or just my own anxiety.
I’ve tried reading a few meta-analyses, like one from the Journal of Adolescent Health that cited a 0.15 correlation between screen time and depression scores, which seems tiny. But then I also stumbled on a book by Jonathan Haidt, “The Anxious Generation,” where he argues for a much stronger link, and now I’m confused about how to weigh these opposing claims. I’ve also started looking at the panel data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study, but the sheer number of variables—like whether the user is passively scrolling or actively posting—makes me wonder if I’m overcomplicating things, or maybe not complicating them enough.
For someone returning to research after a gap like me, what would be the most reliable starting point to understand whether the causal claims in this field hold up? Specifically, are there any recent longitudinal studies that control for pre-existing mental health issues that have shifted your own stance on this debate?
I’ve tried reading a few meta-analyses, like one from the Journal of Adolescent Health that cited a 0.15 correlation between screen time and depression scores, which seems tiny. But then I also stumbled on a book by Jonathan Haidt, “The Anxious Generation,” where he argues for a much stronger link, and now I’m confused about how to weigh these opposing claims. I’ve also started looking at the panel data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study, but the sheer number of variables—like whether the user is passively scrolling or actively posting—makes me wonder if I’m overcomplicating things, or maybe not complicating them enough.
For someone returning to research after a gap like me, what would be the most reliable starting point to understand whether the causal claims in this field hold up? Specifically, are there any recent longitudinal studies that control for pre-existing mental health issues that have shifted your own stance on this debate?
