When I talk about how teens use technology to stay connected, I always talk about how girls tend to spend more time socializing, therefore it makes sense that they would be primary users of this new set of digital communication tools. Girls love to talk to each other. Whether it's in a group or with a BFF, that need to share whatever is going on in your world with a girlfriend is especially strong during the teen years. Spending hours talking back and forth digitally is no different from when we would sit with the old landline phone glued to our ears for hours at night after seeing that same friend at school and after school. Since technology has increased the amount of time and number of ways girls can stay connected, I found this new study interesting. Researchers at the University of Missouri Columbia found that too much girl talk, especially when it's about problems, can lead to greater anxiety and depression. From the study:

The research was conducted by Amanda Rose, associate professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Science. The six-month study, which included boys and girls, examined the effects of co-rumination – excessively talking with friends about problems and concerns. Rose discovered that girls co-ruminate more than boys, especially in adolescence, and that girls who co-ruminated the most in the fall of the school year were most likely to be more depressed and anxious by the spring.

"When girls co-ruminate, they're spending such a high percentage of their time dwelling on problems and concerns that it probably makes them feel sad and more hopeless about the problems because those problems are in the forefront of their minds. Those are symptoms of depression," Rose said. "In terms of anxiety, co-ruminating likely makes them feel more worried about the problems, including about their consequences. Co-rumination also may lead to depression and anxiety because it takes so much time – time that could be used to engage in other, more positive activities that could help distract youth from their problems. This is especially true for problems that girls can't control, such as whether a particular boy likes them, or whether they get invited to a party that all of the popular kids are attending."

Of course, the researchers also found "co-rumination" to be associated with feeling closer to friends — so it's more that "too much of a good thing" may not be so good for girls…

Categorized under: Youth Marketing

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