Sometimes I wonder if “adults” (~35+) really do ever understand adolescents. Well, I sometimes wonder if journalists portraying youth in the media actually understand them. I read an article this week about the link between TV watching and depression in teens. Depressed teens watched 2.64 hours of TV a day, compared with 2.28 hours in non-depressed teens. That difference equates to one episode of Sponge Bob per day…

With any study, remember that correlation does not imply causation — just because depressed youth watch more TV doesn’t mean TV causes the depression. This is acknowledged in the news article by a psychologist not associated with the study:

“A warning sign would be a teen who doesn’t seem to enjoy doing anything else. A teen who watches a lot of TV, but is also on the football team or belongs to clubs, they may just be using the TV to relax and enjoy some down time.”

This doesn’t invalidate the study. The psychologist is right: TV usage, combined with other factors, might make for a quick screen for depression. My problem regarding this article lies with the conclusions (”red flags”) noted in the article:

Is your teen interested in socializing with others? Be concerned if he doesn’t want to do anything other than watch TV or get on the computer.

Watch for other signs of depression: changes in sleep habits, significant weight gain or weight loss, irritability, pessimism, indifference.

There’s a significant chunk of the youth population that primarily utilizes the computer to socialize with people. Their parents may truly not understand this, and perceive them to not be “socializing” as they aren’t playing sports or musical instruments. I think one of the biggest differences between this generation and their parent’s generation is the use of technology — the kids that used to be ostracized by their peers can now find friends on the internet. Those friendships are just as valuable and rewarding as the relationships established in “real life.” To downplay the importance of this, and completely write these youth off as being “depressed” is unfortunate. After all, the time I spent on the computer growing up has helped me network, gain skills, and get jobs, while I haven’t touched my clarinet since middle school.

And about those symptoms of depression: find me a teen that isn’t irritable, pessimistic, or indifferent, and I’ll show you a youth who hasn’t hit puberty yet.