Teenagers who spend more than two hours a day on social networking sites (SNSs), such as Twitter and Facebook, are more likely to report having poor mental health, including suicidal thoughts, a new study has found.

According to Canadian researchers, SNSs ‘have gained substantial popularity among youth in recent years', however the relationship between these sites and mental health in young people is largely unknown.

They decided to investigate the link between time spent on these sites and mental health among 753 students, with an average age of 14 years.

One in four teenagers were found to use SNSs for more than two hours per day, while just over half used them for up to two hours per day. The remainder did not use them or only used them infrequently.

The study found that those most likely to report that they had unmet mental health needs were the young people who spent more than two hours per day on SNSs.

Daily use of these sites for two hours or more a day was also linked with poor self-ratings on mental health, high levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation.

"This study found that students with poor mental health are greater users of SNSs. Results clearly show that youth who report use of SNSs for more than two hours per day have also reported poor self-rated mental health, psychological distress, suicidal ideation, or unmet need for mental health support," the researchers said.

They suggested that young people with mental health problems may use SNSs more often ‘to seek interaction or support'.

"The results showed that more than a quarter of students reported an unmet need for mental health support. Of these, the majority reported frequent use of SNSs. Mental health issues are usually stigmatising and embarrassing for youth, thus leading to less intention to seek help.

"Youth are often concerned about being seen as ‘mental' by their friends and others. They may be turning to SNSs to seek interaction and support, as they do not know where else to turn," the researchers said.

However, they also pointed out that while SNSs may be a problem for some, they may also offer a solution.

"Since teens are on the sites, it is the perfect place for public health and service providers to reach out and connect with this vulnerable population and provide health promotion systems and supports," they said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.