Is there a link between social media and depression？Do social media have a negative impact on your mental health？It's complicated.
   In a recent study，the investigators compared social media use and depression between teens.（1）

D

D

Specifically，for every hour per day that one teen spent on social media more than her peers，she likely had a 0.64-point higher depression score.
   A different study published in 2018 identified five distinct types of social media users.The finding was that "problematic social media use" was one of the main themes for people whose mental health was affected by social media.You can have alcohol in your life without it being a problem，or your alcohol use may become problematic. （2）

A

A

   There's one important thing to remember about survey research — just because two things happen together，it's not necessarily true that one causes the other.（3）

G

G

For all we know，it could be that people who are already more depressed choose to spend more time on social media.
   （4）

B

B

If you think that we shouldn't paint social media with one broad brush，you're on the right track.On the one hand，participants often described social media as a valuable way to cope with stress.On the other hand，cyberbullying via social media was also a common experience for participants.Some also said that constantly checking their own social media profile was stressful.
   It's certainly possible that experiences like cyberbullying，comparing yourself to idealized images，and constantly monitoring your profile，are bad for your mood.It's also true for many that social media offer community support and positive messages.Given the inconclusive research，it's safe to say that at least we shouldn't write off social media altogether.（5）

F

F

Anyway，you cannot use it as a crutch（依靠）for coping with other stressors and mental health problems.

A.It's the same with social media.
B.Social media can be a double-edged sword.
C.People get more opinionated about the potential problems of social media.
D.They found that those who used social media more had higher depression scores.
E.They reviewed all existing research and found that there were both benefits and drawbacks.
F.The key to benefiting from social media may lie in using it in moderation and staying socially connected.
G.For example，just because higher social media use co-occurs with higher levels of depression doesn't mean social media use causes depression.