Is Facebook Really A Friend or Foe?

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Do you get on Facebook, Myspace, or Twitter at least once a day? If so, then you might be at risk for a new type of depression among teens that's being called, Facebook depression.
A recent report from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns that teens who spend too much time texting and surfing social media websites may be at greater risk for depression.

How can a social media cause someone to be depressed? Well really if you think about it, how doesn't it?

1. Researchers are worried that social media websites like Facebook hurts teens' social interaction skills simply because all they are used to is communicating behind a screen. They have a hard time in situations where they are required to talk face-to-face. This isn't good because when today's teens go out into the real world and get jobs they aren't used to the working with others type of atmosphere.

2. Social media is also an open gate for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying been in the news a lot recently and it is something that's definitely being recognized now more than ever. Websites like Facebook and Twitter allow bullies to talk trash on someone easily and for literally everyone to see.

Imagine how horrible it would be to be called ugly or fat but then being called that in front of everyone in the world to see...would totally hurt your feelings right? Because it's opened to the public, there really isn't any supervision on social media sites, making it really easy for mean people to say anything they want hurting whoever.

3. Although no one wants to admit it, everyone creeps on people's pages on Facebook and Twitter. Some even envy the things that their friends' post or the pics they put up. Whether it's a picture of your ex-boyfriend smoochin' a new girl or a pic of someones brand new car, knowing every detail of your friends' lives can sometimes be depressing especially if your life isn't too awesome at the moment. Sometimes seeing your friends in happier situations than you doesn't put you in the best's only human.

4. Finally, teens are competitive people already, so what happens when they start to compete over things on the net? For example, who has the most friends on Facebook, who gets the most "likes" on a status, who is "in a relationship" and who isn't, who gets the most comments on their pictures, etc. The fact is that many young adults are adding anyone who wants to be their friend or to follow them simply because they want a higher "number" than their friends. This is alarming because they're willingly letting strangers into their lives simply to look more popular than their pals.

What do you think? Do you feel that Facebook and other social media sites can lead to teen depression? Do you agree with any of the points above? Let us know in the comments and by taking the poll below!



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