We all know that the teenage years can be really tough. Now a new study says that social media may be making things worse.

A new study from The Lancet on Child & Adolescent Health is linking depression in teenagers to social media. It appears to be worse for teen girls than teen boys.

The study involved kids between the 13 and 16 in England. The research found that social media may harm girls mental health by increasing their exposure to bullying and reducing their sleep and physical exercise.

The Lancet reported: “Mental health harms related to very frequent social media use in girls might be due to a combination of exposure to cyberbullying or displacement of sleep or physical activity, whereas other mechanisms appear to be operative in boys. Interventions to promote mental health should include efforts to prevent or increase resilience to cyberbullying and ensure adequate sleep and physical activity in young people.”

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