Depression Correlated with Excessive Internet Use

Researchers have been able to accurately link the excessive Internet use with symptoms of depression for the first time, although they have been unable to determine exactly if the medical condition is triggered by spending large amounts of time online. The experts behind the new study were based at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom. They say that they only looked at the behavioral patterns exhibited by people who showed signs of compulsive Internet habits, such as spending most of their days online. More than 1,319 individuals were investigated, which makes this the largest study of its type in the West. Details of the work will be published in the journal Psychopathology, in the upcoming, February 10 issue.

Of particular interest to the researchers were people who tended to replace their real-life social relationships with virtual ones. A small portion of the population using the Internet exhibits compulsive behavior related to the World Wide Web. In these instances, those involved tend to spend most of their time awake browsing adult websites, online chatrooms, as well as social-networking websites, including Facebook, MySpace and the micro-blogging service Twitter. “The Internet now plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are accompanied by a darker side,” UL expert Dr. Catriona Morrison, who has also been the lead author of the new study, says.

“While many of us use the Internet to pay bills, shop and send emails, there is a small subset of the population who find it hard to control how much time they spend online, to the point where it interferes with their daily activities,” she adds. The Leeds group basically suggests that addictive surfing can have a significant impact on the mental health of people suffering from compulsive disorders. Addicted users were also found in the investigation to experience a higher incidence of moderate and severe symptoms of depression, as opposed to those who only spent a moderate amount of time online.

“What is clear, is that for a small subset of people, excessive use of the Internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies,” the researcher adds. “This study reinforces the public speculation that over-engaging in websites that serve to replace normal social function might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction. We now need to consider the wider societal implications of this relationship and establish clearly the effects of excessive Internet use on mental health,” Morrison explains. People involved in the study were aged 16 to 51, so the findings do not only apply to teenagers, as some would expect.

Worryingly, 1.2 percent of those investigated were declared Internet-addicted. This may seem like a small number, but the rate of those deemed obsessed with gambling is of only 0.6 percent. The researchers further reveal that the average age of those in the addicted group stands at 21 years.