Youth feel isolated the MORE they use social media.

Its success is largely down to its popularity among millennials. But, paradoxically, social media has an adverse effect on the young people who readily consume it, a new report has revealed.  

Specifically, both time and frequency of time spent on sites including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter can actively worsen feelings of isolation among young people.

The finding, published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, was conducted by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists. 

They studied 1,787 adults aged 19-32 using questionnaires to determine how long - and how often - they used Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn.

Their responses were measured using an assessment tool called the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System.

Meanwhile, those who visited various social media platforms 58 or more times per week had about triple the odds of perceived social isolation than those who visited fewer than nine times.

Those who used social media more than two hours a day had twice the odds for perceived social isolation than their peers who spent less than 30 minutes online.