3.65 Social Media Usage and Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Youth With Bipolar Spectrum Disorders

Objectives

The objectives are to examine social media usage and whether social media usage was associated with increased depression or anxiety and suicidality during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study evaluated youth with bipolar spectrum disorders who participated in a pragmatic clinical trial entitled Metformin for overweight and OBese chILdren with bIpolar spectrum disorders Treated with second-generation antipsYchotics (MOBILITY)-Telemedicine Enhanced Access during COVID-19 to Healthcare (TEACH).

Methods

Youth enrolled in MOBILITY were invited to complete an online survey via REDCap and a telephone interview from December 15, 2020 to October 31, 2021 regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health care, depression, suicidality, and social media usage. All respondents provided electronic informed consent or assent if <18 years old via REDCap before completing the survey or interview.

Results

A total of 305 patients completed the survey and 255 completed the interview. Mean age was 15.6 years with 54% male, 64% White, 18% Black, and 14% Other. Twenty-eight percent of patients reported that their social media usage increased during the pandemic, 19% reported that their usage had decreased, and 53% reported no change. Among those reporting an increase, mean time spent on social media increased from 4 to 7.5 hours per day. Among those reporting a decrease, mean usage decreased from 8.5 to 4.8 hours per day. There was no statistically significant mean change in social media use in the overall sample. Roughly a third of patients (29%) reported that their depression or anxiety had worsened since the start of COVID-19, whereas 22% reported an improvement, and 49% reported no change. The proportion reporting worsened mood was not significantly different than the proportion reporting improvement (n = 133, p = .14). Changes in social media usage were not significantly associated with changes in mood (p = .58), level of current depressive symptoms (p = .61), changes in suicidal ideation since the start of COVID-19 (p = .81), or probability of a suicide attempt (p = .69). Patient sex did not moderate any of the relationships.

Conclusions

Overall, in this sample of youth with bipolar disorder, social media use did not significantly change during the pandemic. Changes in social media usage were not significantly associated with changes in mood, level of depressive symptoms, or changes in suicidal ideation.

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