Social Media Increases Anxiety and Depression

Britain’s National Health Service views too much social media use as harmful! There is a “mental health crisis among children as [the] selfie culture sees cases of anxiety rise by 42 per cent in five years… reflecting a generation under pressure from ‘around the clock’ social media, fuelling bullying, insecurity and concern about body image… Girls were twice as likely as boys to be diagnosed with the condition [anxiety]” (The Telegraph, January 22, 2017). The U.K. is not alone. “A large-scale University of Pittsburgh study of young adults indicated that heavy social media users are almost three times more likely to be depressed than occasional users… In Canada… young people who use social media more than two hours per day are much more likely to rate their mental health as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ compared with occasional users” (Huffington Post, September 14, 2016).

The Bible states, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad” (Proverbs 12:25). Sadly, more people today come from broken homes and have fast-paced lives lacking real personal interaction. Many seek acceptance through social media and online relationships. The return of Jesus Christ will see a rebuilding of strong family relationships (Malachi 4:5) that will lead to lasting joy for future generations of adults and children (Isaiah 65:20-25; Zechariah 8:4-5). To learn more about this important issue, watch our telecast “Satan’s War on the Family.”