Last but not least: Facebook to blame for depression in children

Pictures on Facebook convey the image of an ideal world without frustration and anger. All of this can lead to depression in young users, warn American pediatricians according to 20 Minuten on Tuesday. The American Academy of Pediatrics has therefore published a media guide. This is because the photos of supposedly happy people convey a distorted picture of the truth, as the author of the guide, Gwenn O'Keefe, explained. Harassment on the internet, including bullying, can have far-reaching psychosocial consequences, the author continued. The guide therefore calls on pediatricians to encourage parents to talk to their children about Facebook depression or cyberbullying. According to 20 Minuten, however, O'Keefe does not want to overlook the advantages of the websites, as all teenagers today meet on Facebook. Much of what happens there is also very healthy. After all, the aim of the guide is not to create a wave of Facebook panic bans in America. Megan Moreno from the University of Wisconsin also emphasizes that parents need not fear that their children could contract depression on Facebook. However, this does not change the fact that, according to O'Keefe, an already lonely child feels even lonelier after looking at the mostly positively connoted pictures and comments.