If you suffer from depression, you might what to cut back on using Facebook

A study has shown that the addictive use of Facebook by depressed people increases the severity of their depression.

Scientists from Monash University in Malaysia reached this conclusion after conducting a study on the subject published in 'Computers in Human Behaviour.'

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The study involved 250 people diagnosed with depression who were followed for six months.

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The results of the study suggest that excessive use of Facebook can lower a person's self-esteem.

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The researchers claim that Facebook addiction can predict depression severity through two distinct depressive experiences: addiction and self-criticism.

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For self-criticism, they measured users' shame when they failed to maintain a positive self-image.

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In regards to dependence, the helplessness felt when users lost the acceptance of others was measured.

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In addition, a variety of other factors were measured in the study: items such as the Facebook Intensity Scale, an emotional assessment of the social media platform and its integration into everyday life, a measure of dependency, as well as behavioural addictive tendencies or the inability to reduce Facebook usage despite all attempts.

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The results of the six-month study showed that users with more addictive use had more pronounced depressive experiences and more acute depression.

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But what are the reasons for these results? How is it that repeated Facebook use can make a person's symptoms worse?

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The study explains it in a simple way: the excessive use of Facebook implies the obligation to regularly respond to contacts' updates in order to gain acceptance from others.

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This attitude reinforces dependency (hypersensitivity to rejection) or self-criticism (tendency to magnify one's faults or limitations).

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Both lead to a eroding of self-esteem and compound the damage that depression has already done.

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The term "Facebook depression" is already being used to define the depression caused by prolonged use of Mark Zuckerberg's social media platform.

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In fact, this isn't the first study to suggest that Facebook is detrimental to the advancement of treatment for patients with mental illness.

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Even the company itself has acknowledged in an internal report that Instagram, Facebook's sister social network, also leads to serious mental health problems among teenagers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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The criticism surrounding social media platforms and their link to depression prompted Instagram to develop a tool which reminds teenagers to "take a break", according to the Washington Post.

The hope of the social media company is that reminding teens to spend time off social media could aid in preventing adverse mental health issues. However, it has yet to be seen how effective this measure is.

Perhaps the best solution is simply to keep in mind that if you or your loved ones struggle with depression, take care not to spend too much time on social media in general.

While it is a tempting escape, a variety of studies have now shown that spending too much time on social media platforms isn't good for mental health.