When public health experts release information about a concomitant rise in teen depression and social media use, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently did, I don’t waste time worrying about cause and effect. I recommend to all teens, especially girls, to dial down on social media — or eliminate it altogether.

That’s right: When it comes to treating depression in teens, I wage war against the illness. It is, after all, life-threatening.

I recently spoke with a 14-year-old girl suffering from a major depressive disorder who remarked that every time she went on Instagram, she felt bad about herself. When she saw photos of her friends, she viewed them as thinner, prettier, happier, and more popular. When I told her to stop using her Instagram account for two weeks, she said she wasn’t sure she could.

Her mother sat beside her feeling helpless and overwhelmed.

This month, the American Academy of Pediatrics published an article on teens, depression and social media in the journal Pediatrics and cited the following:

1. Viewing certain media content can cause teens to feel anxious and afraid.

2. Teens can turn to social media to avoid facing their feelings.

3. Teen depression may…