A recent longitudinal study by Professor Patricia Conrod from the University of Montreal and postdoctoral researcher Elroy Boers from the Sainte-Justine Hospital found that social media incites depression within young people while video games make people happy.

ZeroHedge picked up the news from a study that was published in the CBC, where it was revealed…

“What we found over and over was that the effects of social media were much larger than any of the other effects for the other types of digital screen time,”

They monitored television, video games, and social media use for 3,800 adolescents between 2012 and 2018, ranging from the 7th grade up to the 11th grade, as featured in the TomoNews piece.

Hilariously enough they found that television and social media increased depression among the teens.

Why? Because sites like Instagram – featuring lots of celebrities and their lavish lifestyles – made teens feel worthless, hopeless, and like underachievers. Professor Conrod explained…

“It exposes young people to images that promote upward social comparison and makes them feel bad about themselves. These sort of echo chambers — these reinforcing spirals — also continually expose them to things that promote or reinforce their depression, and that’s why it’s particularly toxic for depression.”

But you know what doesn’t cause depression? Video games.

Boers briefly stated…

“The findings surprised us. Video gaming makes one more happy. It’s a good pastime.”

Even the CBC had to acknowledge that video games lessened depression and helped with diminishing feelings of isolation due to the multiplayer component in many games. This is despite the fact that the CBC has launched an all-out war against consumer movements like #GamerGate, publishing years’ worth of fake news about the subject matter.

Nevertheless, the outlet wrote…

“The most surprising finding for Boers was that time spent playing video games was not contributing to depressive symptoms.

 

“The study suggests the average gamer is not socially isolated, with more than 70 per cent of gamers playing with other people either online or in person.”

So basically, following trashy celebrities like Kim Kardashian on Instagram is literally bad for your mental health, whereas playing some awesome video games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will make you happy.

That’s the sort of common sense that shouldn’t need a study to confirm, but common sense isn’t all that common in [current year].

(Thanks for the news tip Ebicentre and John Sorger)