A group of UK psychologists have reported that there is a link between depression and internet addiction. Whilst they could not reveal whether one caused the other, a survey of 1,319 individuals showed that 1.2per cent were classed as “internet addicts” with many also suffering from depression.
Using social networking sites to recruit study subjects, individuals were asked about their internet using habits along with a series of questions designed to determine depression symptoms. Dr Catriona Morrison, lead author, explained “The internet now plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are accompanied by a darker side. While many of us use the internet to pay bills, shop and send e-mails, 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 added that their research showed that true internet addicts had a five time increase in their depression score when compared to the non-addicted group. “Our research indicates that excessive internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first – are depressed people drawn to the internet or does the internet cause depression?” she said, adding “Now we need to investigate the nature of that relationship and consider the issue of causation.”
Commenting on the work, the King’s College Institute of Psychiatry’s Dr Vaughan Bell explained that the find was “not a big surprise” due to internet addicts often being emotionally distressed. He added that “There is no good evidence that the problem is the internet itself”, explaining that similar individuals were also found to watch excessive amounts of TV, or blow money on retail excursions.
