Research Log #8 - Solutionary Project 2020
Date: Mar. 26, 2020
Name: Dane Hansen
Essential Question: How does depression affect society?
Three Points to Prove: #1: Social media is a major contributor in a rise in depression.
#2: The rise of technology has led to an increase in depression and
suicide but can also be a helpful tool to counter them.
#3: By feeling a real human connection, those suffering from depression
can feel reassured.
Point that this Source Proves: #2: The rise of technology has led to an increase in depression
and suicide but can also be a helpful tool to counter
them.
Excerpts (These should provide insight into the Point to Prove):
“Also, on days at-risk adolescents use technology more, they experience more conduct problems
and higher ADHD symptoms compared to days they use technology less,” said Madeleine J.
George, a Duke Ph.D. candidate and the lead author of the study.
Researchers at Duke found a positive way technology could actually help prevent depression
saying, “On the positive side, the researchers found evidence that digital technology use may be
helpful to adolescents experiencing depression and anxiety. More time spent texting was
associated with fewer same-day symptoms of depression and anxiety.”
After a survey was conducted by Duke students, “The findings suggest contemporary youth may
be using digital technology to connect in positive ways versus isolating themselves, the authors
said.
Analysis (How does this source support the Point to Prove?):
This article states that a balance of the use of technology is crucial to being mentally
healthy, especially with the increased average amount of time people spend on their devices
daily. Duke Ph. D candidate Madeleine George decided to conduct a study on Duke students to
see what effects the amount of time spent on technological devices had on their mental health.
“Also, on days at-risk adolescents use technology more, they experience more conduct problems
and higher ADHD symptoms compared to days they use technology less,” said Madeleine J.
George, a Duke Ph.D. candidate and the lead author of the study. Although time on devices is
linked to an increased likelihood in having depression, it’s important to note that there are other
negative health effects.
Although there are negative effects on your mental health after a while, the study notes
that time spent on your phones in particular could be a good thing. That’s why a balance of time
on your phone should be implemented, especially for younger kids. Along with this, parents
should strictly monitor what children do on these devices. After a survey was conducted by Duke
students, “The findings suggest contemporary youth may be using digital technology to connect
in positive ways versus isolating themselves, the authors said. However, this online interaction
can be a negative thing too. It can provide a gateway to cyber bullying, which is all the more
reason parents should strictly monitor what children do online.
The study says technology is actually helping a certain group of people. Those who have
social anxiety could actually have an easier time interacting online rather than in person. In these
cases, technology is heavily relied upon and is actually an extremely useful tool. However,
technology can apply the same benefits to normal people by providing an easier way to talk to
your friends, family, and loved ones. Researchers at Duke found a positive way technology could
actually help prevent depression saying, “On the positive side, the researchers found evidence
that digital technology use may be helpful to adolescents experiencing depression and anxiety.
More time spent texting was associated with fewer same-day symptoms of depression and
anxiety.”
Work Cited (correct MLA format):
Jones, Alison. “More Technology Use Linked to Mental Health Issues in At-Risk Adolescents.”
Duke Today, 3 May 2017, today.duke.edu/2017/05/more-technology-use-linked-mental-
health-issues-risk-adolescents.
This is a reputable and reliable article because, Duke is a prestigious university. Since
universities have a ton of contact with young adults, they can see firsthand how technology
affects their mental health.
Student Journal 8
As a group, we collaboratively created the idea to help temporarily reduce student’s stress
and hopefully depression. We want to post funny memes that are popular between teens among
the country that many of our classmates find humorous. If the student laughs, serotonin will be
released into the brain calming and improving their mood. We are still debating whether to create
a scavenger hunt with food at the end of the tunnel by having QR codes to scan that gives a hint
to the next meme. So far, we have created both a written proposal and proposal video. The
written proposal highlights what we hope to accomplish with our project and how we aim to get
there. Since stress has become more and more common within schools especially, our idea to
post memes around school is aimed around making students laugh. In our video, we talked about
how common depression has become in our society and how we plan to combat it with laughter
within our school.
Personally, I’ve still just been doing research and recently finished my first interview.
Overall as a group, we’ve been doing research into different components of depression. My
research focuses on the causes and effects of depression, in particular, technology as a cause and
how we could use technology to also help counter depression. In this most recent research log, I
used a video as my source, and it was an interview. The interview is a reaction to a study that
found increased social media use a cause of depression. Jean Twenge found a correlation
between the two in an earlier study, but this one confirmed her findings. I thought that for
community service we could help out at a place where we interact with those suffering from
depression and hopefully make them feel better. As my research has progressed, I’ve realized
how much social media contributes to depression in children. I feel like I can’t personally do
anything about this, all the power is within the social media companies.
