Since terrorist attack in 2019 that killed 50 people in New Zealand was livestreamed on Facebook, many of the negative effects of social media have begun to be known. So far, it’s not looking good.
Not that social media is bad in nature. It does not necessarily cause mental health problems. What it is doing, however — especially in young people, a new study argues — is increasing the number of cases of young people’s depression (抑郁) and suicide (自杀).
The new study, led by psychologist Jean Twenge at San Diego State University, has researched the effects of technology and social media on the teenager brain. For this study, Twenge and her partners researched data (数据) from 2005 to 2017. They wanted to know what age groups suffered more from depression. Chance of mood disorders (紊乱), they write, “generally becomes less with age.” In this date range, depressive cases increased by 63 percent among young people aged 12 to 17, and 52 percent among young adults aged 18 to 25.
There are two tendencies that appear to be causing this problem.
According to the study, the increased use of electronic communication and digital media during this time period may have changed ways of socializing enough to affect mood disorders and suicide-related results. For example, people who spend more time on social media and less time with others face-to-face report poorer health and are more likely to be depressed.
Tied into increased screen time, which could lead to being affected by cyber-bullying, are sleep issues. Sleep duration is decreasing among all age groups, but especially young adults during a time in life when they need it the most. Lack of sleep has been linked to mood disorders, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
Using the technology for good is one step forward. But another would be to put the phone down more often. If you’ve only grown up in a world viewed through a screen, learning that other world — namely, the real one -— exists might seem impossible. Therefore, some distance is feeling more necessary day by day.
11. What is the main finding of the new study?
A.Young people are fighting for more concerns. |
B.Communication in person is getting less common. |
C.Teenagers are suffering from serious lack of sleep. |
D.Social media increases chances of mental problems. |
12. How did the team carry out the research?
A.By studying the data. | B.By studying behavior. |
C.By doing experiments. | D.By interviewing people. |
13. Which is a possible cause of increased cases of depression among young people?
A.Too early bedtime. | B.Face-to-face contact. |
C.Good Internet connection. | D.Frequent use of phones. |
14. What is the author’s attitude towards the use of technology?
A.Doubtful. | B.Careful. | C.Unconcerned. | D.Unknown. |
15. Which section of a website is the text most likely from?
A.Culture. | B.Education. | C.Opinions. | D.History. |