Excessive chatting on Facebook can lead to depression in teenage girls

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-can-lead-to-depression-in-teenage-girls.html

Repeated conversations among adolescent girls, known as co-rumination, can be unhelpful, particularly if it is about romantic disappointments.
Frequently discussing the same problem can intensify into an unhealthy activity for those who use Facebook and other electronic means to obsess about it, according to the researchers.
Psychology professor Dr Joanne Davila and her colleague Lisa Starr, at Stony Brook University in New York, interviewed 83 girls aged around 13 - the age when risk of depression starts to increase.
They were contacted again a year later to follow them up.
On both occasions they were tested for depressive symptoms and asked about romantic experiences considered normal for early teens, such as being asked out on a date and having been kissed.
According to the report published in The Journal of Adolescence, it found higher levels of discussing problems with friends "significantly" linked with higher levels of depression while more romantic experience was linked both to excessive talking and more depressive symptoms.
Dr Davila said: "Texting, instant messaging and social networking make it very easy for adolescents to become even more anxious, which can lead to depression."
She added: "Lots of talking can help if those involved have strong problem-solving skills because it helps them reach a solution and it builds friendships."
She said many teenagers have not yet developed effective ways of dealing constructively with their troubles, remarking that parents may need to be aware when they are obsessing about a setback.
Although girls spend more time discussing their personal problems, Dr Davila said electronic communications could lead to more co-rumination between teenager boys.
"It's most likely they are discussing the game last night or meeting up, but there's a possibility they could start discussing emotional problems more than in the past which would put them at risk," she said.

 

Just a few days ago, I read about how women who use facebook like a lot of attention. A bit confusing. I am also interested to know if it is a woman thing or person thing as a lot of men say much less than women do.

 

stuff like the internet, facebook, etc are useful tools but can lead to abuse. i believe it's even more dangerous in the hands of teenage girls. why i say this, is because for girls their teen years is a time self discovery and finding out who you will become. this is also a time of being very impressionable......the words ppl say can hit extra hard for ppl who are just developing self awareness and their self confidence is fragile. that's why i feel it is not a coincedence, the increase of teen girl suicides, anorexia and cutting have increased along the time of the invention of social media. the anonimity of the internet gives a lot of ppl the freedom to say the harshest things with no repurcussions..

 

I don't even have a facebook account, just not that enamored with it.

All my teenage cousins have an account though.

 

That would make sense.

 

I'm glad I was kicked off Facebook. They did me a favor and quite frankly. Plus it's too glitchy beyond reason.

 

What did you get kicked off for?

I don't think it's just facebook that's the problem to be honest, I think it'll be a combination of sitting around on the computer all night talking instead of getting out and having fun and taking advice from other teenage girls >.>

As someone who spends far too many evenings in the house with the xbox/internet, it is something that just makes you feel worse if you're already upset and it's sooo easy to just chat with friends on skype, etc. instead of going out and spending time with them offline(which does actually cheer you up imho). I'm sure most people would agree that if you're having problems spending time with your friends helps a lot more than talking to someone on AIM/whatever, but if you're miserable anyway, it can be tempting to stay in and mope and the internet is always there...

 

Never had a Myspace or Facebook, they're lame.

 

I agree with a lot of what you said. Social interaction outside the internet helps you cope with things better. Assessing my own behavioral means, I tend to spend more time communicating with people online as opposed to in person. I tend not to associate with anyone, but I'm pretty cool with everyone. I just don't have a group of my own to hang with.

The thing that I find consistently is that whenever I don't communicate with people outside the internet, I lose some articulation in the process when it comes to speech. I can write fine on here, but when expressing myself vocally, my mind and voice don't register equally, so I tend to stutter or speak in a very low voice. Thus, my social level deteriorates in the process.

And regarding why I've gotten kicked off? Long story short, I wrote a Note relating to something pertaining to Christianity in America and how the far-right have basically hijacked it and posted a picture of Jesus fucking himself. It took a few weeks before I've gotten booted.

 

Very true xbox.