I think this article gives a very good viewpoint, especially in light of this whole #socialmedia #digitalmedia #internet driven #selfdiagnosis of #autism #asd #AuDHD. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366944/ In reality, it more likely technology overuse induced deficits in cognitive dysfunction, including decreased working memory, decreased executive function, decreased task-switching ability, and decreased cognitive empathy. There are other studies that demonstrate increased personality disorder traits, including histrionic, narcissistic, #borderline #BPD, and avoidant, as well as the increased use of social media. I think anecdotally, as clinicians, we have seen the rise of these mental health-related issues in practice and the sequel, including suicidality, more neurosis, more loneliness, and more dysphoria, to name a few.
We will have to do a better job moving forward diagnostically and helping our patients navigate this space. Especially with all the disinformation and misinformation being spread on social media platforms through the neurodiversity movement on all mental health conditions but especially autism, ADHD, and popular ones being discussed under the #neurodiversity hashtags. In the autism space I am especially concerned as there is an uptick in what people describe as #PDA (pathological demand avoidance), #meltdowns, #sensoryoverload, #selfharm, and #suicidality which historically was more frequently seen in the personality disorders (which yes do require a decrease in #stigmatization) as there are other studies that support that mental health professionals report having less empathy with individuals with personality disorders, specifically borderline personality disorder.
Anecdotally, I believe that we all have also all see the increase in internet addiction and withdrawal like symptoms when individuals are denied access to technology. We have heard more and more in our offices as parents describe a child that has epic meltdowns when the technology is taken away and it is “the only thing that calms them down”. Now it is more being considered as a “possible sign of autism”. I think diagnostically we need to consider the potential for the negative effects that technology is having on the brain and a symptom profile that is emerging from long term and excessive technology use in sensitive individuals. We need to find better measures to identify this symptom profile with effective therapy strategies that may be similar or different from therapies that are used for autism spectrum disorder, but remember that services are still lacking significantly for individuals who are autistic.
I also think anecdotally we have seen an uptick in the educational autism diagnosis for an IEP. I am actually in support of schools doing everything they can to improve social emotional interventions because the technology usage is CLEARLY changing the way individuals brains are growing and developing. At some point I would like to do a discussion on Erik Erikson and developmental stages, but I will have to leave that to another post.
Again, I very much welcome any dialogue related to this post. I also recognize that many individuals that have found the self-diagnosis of autism to be something they identify with to comment and discuss.
Here are references that have informed this article and images were linked to their source pages sorry it is not in APA or AMA style:
Reference: Sanzari CM, Gorrell S, Anderson LM, Reilly EE, Niemiec MA, Orloff NC, Anderson DA, Hormes JM. The impact of social media use on body image and disordered eating behaviors: Content matters more than duration of exposure. Eat Behav. 2023 Apr;49:101722. doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2023.101722. Epub 2023 Apr 4. PMID: 37060807; PMCID: PMC10363994.
Participants in 2022 reported greater body image disturbances, more frequent vomiting and laxative use, and more time spent on a greater number of social media accounts, with significantly greater use of image-based platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
Lu WH, Lee KH, Ko CH, Hsiao RC, Hu HF, Yen CF. Relationship between borderline personality symptoms and Internet addiction: The mediating effects of mental health problems. J Behav Addict. 2017 Sep 1;6(3):434-441. doi: 10.1556/2006.6.2017.053. Epub 2017 Aug 29. PMID: 28849668; PMCID: PMC5700727.
SEM analysis revealed that all paths in the hypothesized model were significant, indicating that borderline personality symptoms were directly related to the severity of Internet addiction as well as indirectly related to the severity of Internet addiction by increasing the severity of mental health problems.
Shabahang R, Shim H, Aruguete MS, Zsila Á. Adolescent sadfishing on social media: anxiety, depression, attention seeking, and lack of perceived social support as potential contributors. BMC Psychol. 2023 Nov 7;11(1):378. doi: 10.1186/s40359-023-01420-y. PMID: 37936212; PMCID: PMC10631130.
Akça, Ömer & Bilgic, Ayhan & Karagöz, Hülya & Çıkılı, Yahya & Koçak, Fatih & Sharp, Carla. (2019). Social media use and personality disorders. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry. 1. 10.5455/apd.58500.
Zhang K, Li P, Zhao Y, Griffiths MD, Wang J, Zhang MX. Effect of Social Media Addiction on Executive Functioning Among Young Adults: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Disturbance and Sleep Quality. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2023 May 25;16:1911-1920. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S414625. PMID: 37255996; PMCID: PMC10226546.
Diotaiuti P, Mancone S, Corrado S, De Risio A, Cavicchiolo E, Girelli L, Chirico A. Internet addiction in young adults: The role of impulsivity and codependency. Front Psychiatry. 2022 Sep 6;13:893861. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.893861. PMID: 36147985; PMCID: PMC9485605.
Korte M. The impact of the digital revolution on human brain and behavior: where do we stand? . Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020 Jun;22(2):101-111. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.2/mkorte. PMID: 32699510; PMCID: PMC7366944.
Calvete E, Orue I, Gámez-Guadi M. A Preventive Intervention to Reduce Risk of Online Grooming Among Adolescents. Psychosoc Interv. 2022 Jul 20;31(3):177-184. doi: 10.5093/pi2022a14. PMID: 37361013; PMCID: PMC10268540.
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