The Association between Depression and Anxiety with Online Social Networking

Abstract

Abstract It would seem that today, for many individuals the most important thing is to have a good profile picture on online social networks. Accordingly, there is a serious possibility that addiction to social networking sites (SNS) can lead to psychosocial and behavioral disorders, and other negative consequences on health-related issues. So, the aim of this study was to determine the association between the use of social networking sites and its dependence on symptoms of depression and anxiety. This cross-sectional study was carried out at the University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine from February to May, 2019. All of the respondents were assessed by using an appropriate questionnaire. The study included 1405 randomly selected respondents (411 males and 994 females). The strongest predictor of whether one has high levels of depression symptoms was state of conflict, where the odds ratio was 10.28. This indicates that the respondents with higher scores of the conflict component have symptoms of depression 10.28 times more often than others. It has been observed that depression symptoms are also more common in those respondents with expressed withdrawal symptoms (OR = 4.27), and with mood modification (OR = 1.82). Anxiety symptoms, similar to those of depression, are most present in individuals with conflict state (OR = 10.31), in those with withdrawal symptoms (OR = 6.83), and then with mood modification (OR = 2.55). The number of active accounts/profiles and number of devices, as well as state of salience and tolerance played no part in any of the cases. There is no doubt that there is a direct link between SNS and depression and anxiety. While these links may not be causal, it is quite certain that overuse of social networks exacerbates these symptoms. Key messages There is no doubt that there is a direct link between SNS and depression and anxiety. Strategies for self-control and limited SNS use should be developed by mental health professionals.