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Constant connectionTAHLEQUAH, Mar 30, 2011 (Tahlequah Daily Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Oh, to be a teenager again: hormones raging, body changing, social groups forming and friends being gained and lost. Getting through junior high school academically can be challenge enough, but add in constant connection to social networking sites, and some teens may end up feeling blue. According to a recent report in the medical journal Pediatrics, "Facebook depression" may occur in troubled teens who obsess over the online site. Dr. Gwen O'Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new social media guidelines for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Facebook can prove a difficult media to navigate for young people who may already have low self-esteem. Facebook offers constant tallies with regard to who's friends with whom, who is saying what, and even reminds "friends" of other "friends'" birthdays. On Facebook, the act of "friending" -- or "unfriending," as the case may be -- has become a verb. Four Tahlequah Middle School students, all of whom are members of Facebook, said they don't necessarily believe the site adds to depression. Chase Brose, 15; Sarah Schiefelbein, 14; Cole Wilkie 14; and Colby Reed, 13, all enjoy the connection the social media site provides. But they understand it's no substitute for actual socializing. "I have to be off Facebook by 9 p.m. on school nights, and I had to 'friend' my mom and my aunt," said Chace. Sarah, Cole and Colby said they have few parental rules about using the site, but all are "friends" with parents and other adults involved in their lives, including teachers and youth pastors. Being "friends" on Facebook allows you to see posts, which is often enough for some parents to monitor their children's' activity. "My parents trust me, and I'm 'friends' with them and my youth pastor," said Sarah. Colby has family that lives out of town, and he has a better chance of talking to them via the site. "I like it because I can talk to my family in Oklahoma City," he said. "I also like getting all those birthday messages. I scrolled through pages and pages of people telling me 'happy birthday.'" Sarah and Chace agreed they might have their feelings hurt if, knowing their list of "friends" are notified about birthdays, they received very few or no well-wishes on their special days. "I might be a little hurt if I only got, like, three happy birthday messages," said Chace. Colby said he uses Facebook usually to talk to friends when they are away from school or during long breaks, and that he watches what he says when posting. "I would never use Facebook to bully someone," he said. The girls both agreed that emotions, such as sarcasm, are lost in electronic posts, which can lead to arguments. "Yeah, sometimes you end up having to explain what you meant," said Sarah. All of the youth said they are only "friends" with people they actually know, and are keenly aware of security settings on the site. "I have all of my stuff blocked," said Sarah. "I like the security you have on Facebook." Chace thinks access to electronic media may set teens back when it comes to developing social skills, and she enjoyed her birthday party, when nobody had Internet access. "I hate going someplace, like a social setting, where nobody talks because they're all too busy with their phones," she said. "At school, we can't use them, so people have to talk to each other." While the Pediatrics report warns of "Facebook depression," Dr. John Grohol, CEO and founder of Psych Central, said the report failed to provide enough research to back up its claim. Grohol has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues since 1992, and believes the journal failed to "differentiate between correlation and causation." "The authors of the Pediatrics report use six citations to support their claim that social media sites like Facebook actually cause depression in children and teens," wrote Grohol on his website. "Four of the six citations are third-party news reports on research in the area. In other words, the authors couldn't even bother with reading the actual research to see if the research to see if the research actually said what the news outlet reported it said." Grohol said one longitudinal study found that loneliness and depression did increase with time spent online among adolescents and adult first-time Internet users, who were studied over an eight- to 12-month period. But in a follow-up study, the observed negative effects of Internet use had disappeared. "In other words, this may not be a robust relationship, and may simply be something related to greater familiarity with the Internet," wrote Grohol. "Other research has shown that college students' -- who are often older teens -- Internet use was directly and indirectly related to less depression." Jean Havens, who teaches French at Tahlequah High School, thinks there might be something to the study. "Well, speaking as a teacher of teenagers, Facebook is just one of the ways of technology that continually separate teenagers from actual social interaction with others. Same goes with texting and the constant iPods in the ears," said Havens. "Wouldn't you be depressed if the human need was tangible social connection, but you don't know how to do it? That's what's happening today." Local resident Khristie Cornsilk has two children, and allows the elder child social networking privileges. "Since we have moved, we have no computer service at home, but I did let Alex [who is 13, and was 12 at the time] have a MySpace [account]," said Cornsilk. "I did know the passwords and I did monitor [his use]. I feel that Gabbi maybe too young and concerned about what others think and do to be involved in Facebook or MySpace." Tahlequah Daily Press Facebook friend Jeremy Combs is skeptical about the report. "I think it's the same as people saying we live in the most violent times in man's history," said Combs. "Stats show we live in a much safer, less violent world. But because of advances in technology these things are much more visible to the average person via Internet, mobile phones, and email, so we are under the impression that these things are more common, when they aren't any more so than they were before, and in many cases, less so." Jyme Lowe, prevention coordinator at Help-In-Crisis, works with teens on a daily basis, and understands how important socializing is to youth. "In a teen's world, socializing is a top priority," said Lowe. "Social networking sites like Face book have expanded their availability to stay connected with family and friends. However, with these great opportunities comes a risk for great despair." Lowe believes electronic bullying and coercion are happening with greater frequency, and these experiences can be devastating to a teen. "We have not allowed our tween to have a Facebook account, because I believe the risks outweigh the benefits," she said. "However, we promised she could get one when she turns 13, and that is right around the corner. Naturally, we will have lots of conversations over the topic and continue to monitor her account to help prevent potentially threatening circumstances." To see more of the Tahlequah Daily Press or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tahlequahdailypress.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |