91% of the girls in the study said they used Facebook regularly, while only 28% said the same about MySpace. Demonstrating that teens do not eschew Twitter, 38% said they had a Twitter account, and averaged about 8 Tweets per day.

Girls' Self-Image, On- and Offline

The study also found that girls see a disparity between their online and their offline image. 74% of girls agreed with the statement that "most girls my age use social networking sites to make themselves look cooler than they really are." And 41% admit that this describes themselves.

But many girls also indicated that they think they portray a more well-rounded image in person than they do online. In person, girls say they come across as smart (82%), fun (82%), funny, (90%), kind (76%), and cool (55%). But when they describe how they come across based solely on their online profiles, they describe themselves as fun (54%), funny (52%) and social (48%). These results suggest that girls downplay positive characteristics about themselves online, particularly their intelligence and their kindness.

And the study also found girls who have a low self-esteem are more likely to admit that their social networking image doesn't match their offline image. Furthermore, girls with low self-esteem are more likely to claim the image they portray online is sexy (22%) and crazy (35%).

"Safe" Social Networking

Although the vast majority of girls say they've talked with their parents about how to be safe online (85%), 50% admit they aren't as careful as they should be. And only 59% said they think they have complete control over what happens with the videos, photos and other information they post online.

Many girls said they're concerned with how things they've posted online may hurt them in the future. 42% say they fear they won't get into the college of their choice, 40% say they worry they might miss out on a job opportunity, and 40% fear they'll get in trouble with parents or teachers based on their social networking posts.

Girls' Online Reputation

68% of girls have had a "negative experience" on a social networking site, such as being bullied or harassed. And nearly half of the girls in the study - 46% - said they think that social networking actually damages their personal relationships, causing jealousy among friends. 40% said they'd lost respect for a friend because of something she or he had posted online.

But the news isn't all bad. 56% said that social networking does help them feel more connected to their friends. And 52% say they've gotten involved in a cause they care about through a social network.

But overall, this research suggests that social networking does not necessarily boost girls' confidence and self-image, and girls online are (often knowingly) taking risks - with their reputations and their self-esteem.

The results of their tests, recently published in The Journal of Adolescence, showed that the girls who excessively talked with their friends about their issues had significantly higher levels of depression. Today's online tools provide even more ways for this to occur. Says Dr. Davila, "Texting, instant messaging and social networking make it very easy for adolescents to become even more anxious, which can lead to depression."

The problem with these electronic tools du jour is that they allowed the girls to discuss the same problems over and over again. This caused them to get stuck obsessing over a particular emotional setback, unable to move forward.

A Couple of Caveats

Turning a critical eye to this research, though, we have to wonder: is it really Facebook and IM that's getting the girls down? Or is it just the nature of teenage girls to talk themselves to tears? We already know that teenage girls engage in excessive talking and rumination...and they've been doing so for years. It's just the means by which they communicate these days that has changed.

Years ago, those same girls may have spent hours on the phone or writing out their thoughts in secret "slambooks." Even longer ago, they probably sat at their desks writing out long, emotional letters. For many girls, chatting about or dwelling on their problems is just a part of growing up.

It's not necessarily the medium through which the chatter tasks place that's the issue - it's the amount of discussion that leads to the feelings of depression. Said Dr. Davila, "[The girls] often don't realize that excessive talking is actually making them feel worse."

It's also worth pointing out that the study involved a relatively small sample of girls: 83 in total, which doesn't seem like a large enough group to form any definitive, universal conclusions.

What we can conclude here is that social networking sites haven't changed anything about how we communicate - they've just given us a different platform through which we do so. And our interactions with other online can mirror those we have off.

Update: Please note one of the study's authors has contributed to the discussion to clarify the details of their research. Although the article we linked to examined the study's findings in the context of Facebook, the actual study did not examine Facebook, she says. However, the DailyMail article is quoting the lead researcher Dr. Davila as saying "Texting, instant messaging and social networking make it very easy for adolescents to become even more anxious, which can lead to depression. Teenage friends have always chatted about their problems, asking each other why a boy didn't call or if they should break up with a boyfriend. But frequently discussing the same problem can intensify into an unhealthy activity for those who use Facebook and other electronic means to obsess about it." While the actual paper may not have focused on Facebook, it's clear that the researcher is thinking about how this sort of co-rumination occurs using today's electronic means. The headline "Facebook Depression" is meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek and it should not be taken literally to mean that using Facebook causes depression.

Image Credit: Dawn Ashley