Attention to the Correlation Between Suicide Rates Among Teenage Girls in the US, UK, and SNS

Economist "Some Raise Opinion 'SNS Causes Depression'"
"No Significant Statistical Correlation Yet"

Social Media (SNS)

As the number of suicides and self-harm cases among teenage girls is rapidly increasing overseas in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, the correlation with social media (SNS) content is drawing attention.

On the 3rd (local time), the British current affairs weekly The Economist reported that an analysis of statistics from 17 countries including the US and the UK showed that the average suicide rate per 100,000 females aged 10 to 19 increased from 3.0 in 2003 to 3.5 in 2020.

Among them, the rate of hospitalizations due to self-harm among teenage girls in 11 countries increased by an average of 143% from 2010 to 2021. In contrast, the suicide rate among teenage boys remained largely unchanged during the same period. The hospitalization rate for self-harm among teenage boys increased by only about 49%. This shows a significant difference compared to the cases of teenage girls.

Regarding this, The Economist suggested that the mental health of female adolescents is particularly deteriorating. The main cause was pointed out as smartphones, though it noted that there is room for interpretation.

First, in the US and the UK, suicides and depression among teenage girls sharply increased after 2010, when Instagram, one of the representative SNS platforms, was launched. Additionally, a survey showed that 53% of Americans identified SNS as the main cause of the increase in adolescent depression.

Regarding the difference in the impact of SNS on female and male adolescents, Professor Jonathan Haidt of New York University analyzed, "The reason smartphones are especially dangerous for girls is that boys spend more time on video games rather than social media, which causes depression."

However, The Economist added that no statistical correlation was found between SNS usage due to the spread of smartphones and the internet and changes in suicide and self-harm hospitalization rates by country.

The Economist predicted, "If social media were the sole or main cause of the increase in suicides and self-harm, signs of its impact would be detected in national statistics."

Meanwhile, in South Korea as well, there are concerns that social media is having a significant influence on the rising suicide rate among teenagers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.