This study compared six types of media – TV and movies, music, video games, the Internet, magazines and newspapers, and books – and found that teenage music fans were 8.3 times more likely to suffer from depression than those who preferred other media. Book lovers, on the other hand, were less likely to be depressed than any other group, according to the researchers.
Following the warning published by the American Academy of Pediatrics on a possible link between social media and depression in teens, this latest study is part of many other research examining the influence of media on young people. But its interest lies in the fact that it establishes a link between reading and a lower probability of depression. When teens read books, this probability drops “while it increases with all other media,” says Dr. Brian Primack, professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
