When I read the title I thought "Association" could mean potential causation, but I think the 2nd to the last sentence in the Abstract helps clarify:<p>"The findings suggest that students
with poor mental health may be greater users of SNSs."
I think leveraging virtual spaces to provide greater access mental health support is a great step forward to improve outcomes for troubled adolescents. This definitely opens interesting avenues for future research.
Interesting to see how instant-gratification-type habits like endlessly browsing your news feed are the new low-grade drug habits. I'm just waiting for the study that finally proves that surfing twitter for more than 60 minutes causes a 300% higher likelihood that you'll visit a porn site in the next five.
One thing that isn't accounted for is a drastic change toward an indoor culture. Kids are often forbidden to leave their home and socialize in a normal context. If the only option available to interact with friends are social networking sites, then it's the parents that are damaging their own offspring.