Hi everyone! This study is so important since social media consumption is so prevalent and use has increased even more with the pandemic. Social media can affect us so much in ways that we are unaware stem from social media. It’s so important to take time to “unplug”, get away from screens and social media, and take time for yourself. It’s great that mindfulness can come in many forms, so people that “unplug” have a wide variety of things to do to be more mindful. These may include taking walks, practicing mindful breathing, spending time with family, etc. I know for me, and many others, it is so hard to not compare yourself to others on social media. Personally, taking long walks has definitely helped me to be more mindful and present of my thoughts and emotions, it really helps to alleviate my anxiety (which gets worse with social media use). It would be interesting to see a study like this that focuses on people who make a living on social media, including “influencers” and YouTubers, since they are presumably among the highest users of social media and some or even most may be experiencing depression. I wonder if the mediator of mindfulness would be as effective, or if other forms of treatment or intervention may be more effective. Great job on your poster and elevator pitch!

Hi everybody! You guys did a great job on your presentation. Social media definitely has an impact on our mental health because it affects our body and our mind. It can lead to anxiety, body dysmorphia and depression because we feel pressure to fit in and be like everyone else. Mindfulness is a great way to relax and spend time away from social media. I thought it was interesting that affective social media engagement makes it difficult for people to express their emotions (alexithymia).

Hi everyone! Congrats on this project, it was wonderfully put together! I found it extremely interesting how you took the previous studies and flipped the variables to determine if social media caused a decrease in mindfulness, it was such a good idea on expanding upon already completed studies. I enjoyed learning how much mindfulness can change when social media is used and how much mindfulness itself plays a role in how we perceive ourselves and react to emotions. Are there any future studies you would suggest to help strengthen what you found?

Interesting work!

You were exploring mindfulness as a mediator, but you end your elevator talk by highlighting the potential impact of mindfulness interventions. Do you think this would disrupt the relationship between social media use and depression, or do you think this would change social media use patterns (make it more of a moderator than a mediator)?

Hi Everyone! I enjoyed your presentation and loved your topic choice! I think that studies involving social media is very important since it is relevant in today’s society. Compared to other generations, the children who have grown up with the influence of social media are so different compared to other generations. It is interesting to see the differences between them. Social media has taken over our lives and we are so focused on our phones instead of “living in the moment”. I myself have fallen victim to this and try to not be on my phone as much. You guys had a very strong hypothesis and I would expect to see these results. Overall, I loved your presentation and it was very informative!

Hey! What a good research project. This is a super interesting topic to pick. I really liked how you decided to research the different order of how social media use can impact someone’s mindfulness. Social media is such a big part of society and to see really how big it influences our mindfulness and then our depression is very fascinating. Overall, this project was very good and it produced really helpful results. Thank you so much for sharing!

I knew that the relationship between social media use and depression existed, but never really considered mindfulness as a potential mediator of the relationship – interesting! Scrolling through social media is one of the most mindless tasks I can think of. My question is sort of similar to Dr. Erchull’s regarding mindfulness as a potential moderator of the relationship between social media use and depression. With this model, how to you account for some of the inherent differences in mindfulness (either natural or those who have been trained in mindfulness) in terms of potentially changing whether this relationship exists in the first place?

Hello! I really enjoyed your poster and presentation! I think that social media is one topic that needs to be discussed sometimes thinking about the links to depression can be overlooked. I like the acknowledgment that for future research there needs to be a large and more diverse group. That could be beneficial for more people! Great job on your presentation and your poster!

Hello! Love your poster and the short and sweet explanation you gave in your elevator talk. I think this topic is so important. Social media can be addicting and damaging especially for younger children. I agree that it reduces mindfulness and even causes depression even in my own experiences. When you are focused heavily on the appearances of others and whether or not the people you know are successful in life, it is hard to focus on your feelings and perspective on your own life. I’m glad to hear about presentations involving mindfulness and correlations to depression and other things. I hope to see more studies in the future to support the research you’ve synthesized. Great work!

I really enjoyed this project and this overall presentation! I believe this research topic was very important to explore during the time of the pandemic. Social media has always been a gateway to see the lives of others, which has lead to high levels of insecurity in most who believe they are not living their best life. The breakdown of cognitive, behavioral, and affective in terms of social media displayed a clear explanation of how social media contributes itself as a significant factor of depression. Well done!

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for researching such an important topic! Social media use is a major part of society, especially in recent times due to the ongoing pandemic. I know that I tend to get overwhelmed with social media at times, and often compare myself to others (which can be so upsetting!). I started to find ways to unwind and take a break from the stress of social media. I usually will set my phone aside for a set amount of time and give myself some time for self-care. At the time I started these practices, I did not realize they were mindfulness exercises! I have been learning so much about mindfulness. Thank you for sharing such an interesting topic!

Amazing work everyone this was such a fascinating topic! As technological advances continue to propel us further into an internet reliant society, the harms and dangers of too much exposure to negative social media stimuli affects individuals to varying degrees. I found it interesting how the results although limited in terms of demographics, still showed a significant correlation to the development of depression.

Great Job! I think this topic is super important, especially now since mostly everyone is involved on social media especially younger children. The harms of comparing oneself to someone else does lead to depression, anxiety and even body dysmorphia. I really enjoyed your poster and loved how you did it on a topic that is so important. Good Job guys!!

Amazing work, I really enjoyed reading and watching your research! This is such an important topic to research because the effects are easy to miss and can impact just about anyone negatively. I’ve always have found mindfulness really interesting and helpful. In my own experience, deleting social media, like my Instagram, has without a doubt improved my mental health and has made it easier to practice mindfulness, so I definitely support this research. I hope more studies are done like this one in the future!

This was such a great topic to explore especially considering the influence of social media on our day to day lives. We get consumed in social media and focus on trying to fit in which takes us away from the world around us. You all did a very nice job of explaining the relationship between social media and depression. Mindfulness is a great way to relax and focus on the present. Y’all did a great job!

Great job! This research is so important, especially because social media has become even more prevalent over the pandemic. I knew a little bit about the effects of social media on eating disorders and body issues, but this is the first study I’ve seen done on depression specifically. It was really interesting!

Hi everyone! Great job on your presentation! I really enjoyed learning more about your study and this intrigued me since social media has continued to rise in the path of mental health. Because social media plays such a significant role in our day to day lifestyle, we may not realize how much damage it can give us in the long run, especially those who may not suffer much from mental health due to social media’s impacts. I enjoyed how you conducted the study and came to the conclusion that the study showed! Great job again to all of you.

Great job on researching this topic. In my experience, social media has definitely negatively affected my mental health. I find that being aware of the effect it can have on people helps me to stay away from it, which greatly reduces negative thoughts about myself. I hope that more people can use mindfulness techniques to deal with depression, anxiety, or body dysmorphia that is caused or worsened by social media. Understanding how social media is made to hurt your self image can definitely reduce the negative effects of it, or keep people away from it entirely.

Hi everyone! I really enjoyed learning about your research topic, its so important for people to learn about what mindfulness is and how they could use it and how it could benefit them by using this technique. Now adays social media outlets are a big part of society and it can easily lead others to compare themselves to others they see on social media. It can lead them to not liking what they see in the mirror because of that constant comparison that they make between them and others. I think its an important topic to talk about and bring more awareness to because it help out many people.

This is such a great concept! I’ve thought about the link between social media and depression, but I’ve never considered mindfulness as a mediator. The link between mindfulness and social media use is especially fascinating, since it’s logical, but not something I would have thought of myself. I totally understand not having enough room, but I would love to see some sample questions from the mindfulness measure. From my understanding, mindfulness is something that needs to be practiced, but it doesn’t seem like that is a component thats measured by the survey. I would like to see how the intentional practice and education of mindfulness relates to social media use and if that changes its mediating effects. I see you listed a similar idea to this in your future studies section, is this what you were getting at? Great job, super interesting!

Amelia, Megan, Purnaja, Haley, & Emily – What a great study! I love the route you took by implementing your knowledge on mindfulness to better understand the link between social media usage and depression. I think it would be great to see a future study where you look at how the implementation of mindfulness based interventions effects ones mood (as you stated in your discussion.) Great work on this!