Teens who are “Internet addicts” are twice as likely to become depressed as those who use the web in a more controlled manner, according to a study published this week in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
The researchers surveyed 1,041 teenagers in Guangzhou, southeastern China, to determine how they used the internet. They also completed measures of anxiety and depression.
Most adolescents (over 940) used the Internet normally, but 62 participants (6.2%) were described as “moderately pathological” Internet users, and two (0.2%) were described as “dangerously pathological” users.
Nine months later, the teenagers' psychological well-being was assessed again and the researchers found that teenagers who used the internet excessively were 2.5 times more likely to develop depression.
Even when school-related stress was added into the equation, internet-addicted teens still had a 1.5 times higher risk of developing depression than others.
The results of the study allow us to conclude that mentally healthy teenagers who have an unhealthy attachment to the Internet may end up in depression. One of the signs that may characterize Internet addiction may be the use of the global network primarily for entertainment purposes instead of collecting information or studying.
The study was authored by Lawrence Lam of the University of Notre Dame in Australia and Zi Wen-Peng of China's Ministry of Health.
