Stuck inside the last couple of days due to the relentless rain and an enforced period of recovery from extensive oral surgery, I’ve whiled away the time on my iPad. I’m finally tired of solving on-line crossword puzzles, researching recipes for soup, binge-watching entire Netflix series, and looking on Facebook at the amazing trips my friends have been taking. Lying around  isn’t my strong suit, and it’s got me feeling a little down (plus, the dreary weather doesn’t help—how can anyone live cheerfully in Seattle?).

So I searched online for ideas I could use in a blog post, and I came upon a recently published study—certainly not the first, but perhaps the largest and most comprehensive—linking social-media use to depression in young adults. The University of Pittsburgh researchers found a correlation between the amount of time spent on a broad range of social media outlets and depression. Among the 1,787 US subjects ages 19 through 32 sampled, participants who checked social media most frequently throughout the week and those who spent the most total time on social media throughout the day had 2.7 times and 1.7 times the rate of depression, respectively.

My first thought, as any well-trained student of research methodology would wonder, was “Is the depression a cause or consequence of social media use?”

The researchers addressed this question. They speculated that “people who already are depressed” may be “turning to social media to fill a void.” But they also pointed out that exposure to social media might cause depression by contributing to envy towards others who appear to be happier and more successful. It also could increase the risk of so-called “Internet addiction” and cypher-bullying, both of which have been linked to depression. And there could be an interactive effect, with people prone to depression withdrawing and spending more time on social media and then feeling more depressed as a result.

One more possibility particularly hit home for me. Engaging in essentially meaningless activities on social media (and on the Internet, in general) can negatively affect mood by creating a sense of “time wasted.”

Four days of doing nothing have made me feel like a sloth. I’d hoped–unrealistically, l now realize–to clean out closets, plant my garden, and read two professional books I haven’t had time to crack open. Alas, the weather and my physical condition haven’t cooperated.

So I’m writing a blog post. Makes me feel less sluggish and a tad more productive. And tomorrow, if it ever stops raining, I think I’ll feel up to making a trip to the garden center. Anything to get me away from my electronic devices.