Behind the Screen
Illinois Youth Survey shows social media as primary factor for teenage depression.
What concerns local teens the most? Many would assume that drugs and alcohol, bullying, or body image would top the list. In fact, according to the 3,159 students polled by the Illinois Youth Survey( IYS), depression and suicide are now the biggest concerns for eighth grade students in a seven-county area. In all, 38 percent of eighth-graders surveyed listed depression or suicide as their top health concern for people their age.
Sarah Bush Lincoln Child Psychiatrist Katie Hecksel, MD, explains,“ Adolescents and teenagers developmentally have a difficult time seeing beyond an immediate stressor or tolerating strong emotions without acting on them,” she added,“ This makes them more susceptible to act on suicidal thoughts, particularly when encouraged by others.”
Jeremie Smith, Mattoon Middle School principal said that the results of the survey are not surprising.“ The concern is legitimate,” Smith said,“ We are seeing a distinct increase in the number of students using mental health services because of behavioral, social, emotional, even physical issues having to do with depression.”
According to Smith, many instances of teen depression are beyond the repair of the schools. With a limited number of staff trained to deal with such emotional issues, he said the effort to assist these teens can feel like“ putting a Band-Aid on a chainsaw wound.” Smith said there are several factors that can cause a teen to feel depressed, but he attributes the results of the survey to one primary source: social media.
Dr. Hecksel said there is data to support Smith’ s opinion. Medical studies have indicated that victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to attempt suicide than students who are not experiencing bullying. Interestingly, cyberbullies themselves were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide than children who were neither cyberbullying offenders, nor victims. According to Dr. Hecksel, this would suggest that there could be significant public health benefit in providing mental health interventions for both those getting cyberbullied, as well as those doing the cyberbullying.
“ Social media unfortunately gives bullies a safety net to hide behind, the ability to pose as others, be anonymous, or say and do things they would never do if forced to confront someone in person,” Dr. Hecksel said.
4 healthstyles august 2017