A Final Word

While it is not always wise to view difficult issues in black and white, however, the view “the use of online media has a negative effect on the mental health of individuals” was argued more convincingly in the three supporting articles discussed in this blog, than the opposing view (that the use of online media does not have a negative effect on the mental health of individuals), which was argued in the three opposing articles discussed in this blog.

The entry “Building Social Support online” (which discusses the article “Using the internet to Build Social Support: Implications for Well-being and hope, Kathy Wengarten”) and the entry “The Positive Effect of Online Depression Communities” (which discusses the article “Challenging the Internet Paradox: Online Depression Communities and Well-Being, Galit Nimrod, Ben-Gurion - University of the Negev, Israel”) both highlight the internet’s potential for connecting individuals. These articles both argued that the use of online media could be employed to the benefit of the user’s mental health, because the social use of the internet supports both mental wellbeing and social wellbeing. In contrast, the entry “The Mental Health of Younger Users (discussing the article “Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being among 10-Year-Old and 11-Year-Old Children”) sheds a dark light on the use of social media, claiming that through cyber bullying, and the use of social gaming sites known as ‘multi player online games’ the social use of the internet has a negative influence on the mental health of individuals. According to the article “Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being among 10-Year-Old and 11-Year-Old Children” the social use of online media is associated with a poorer state of mental wellbeing, therefore, the use of online media had a negative effect on the mental health of individuals.  The strength of the argument presented by the entry “The Mental Health of Younger Users” is reinforced by the size of the survey in which the findings supporting these claims where based.  The 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey (“involving 3657 children aged 10 or 11 years old in Northern Ireland representing a response rate of 30% of schools and 15% of pupils”) indicated that Girls who said that they used social networking websites ‘‘a lot’’ were also the group of individuals, that were “most likely to have the lowest PWB (psychological well-being)”. This survey also indicated that the use of multi-player online games (MPOGs) had a statistically significant, negative effect on the psychological wellbeing of young girls, but not on young boys. The results show that “Girls who said they used MPOG ‘‘a lot’’ had the lowest mean scores and these mean scores differed significantly from those of girls who never played online games”.

One of the most persuasive entrees in this blog “Adolescents & Internet Addiction” uses the article “Internet addiction, adolescent depression, and the mediating role of life events: Findings from a sample of Chinese adolescents, Linsheng Yang, Liang Sun, Zhihua Zhang, Yehuan Sun, Hongyan Wu, and Dongqing Ye” to argue that the use of online media has a negative influence on the mental health of individuals. This article builds upon the findings of previous studies that indicated a relationship between internet addiction and depression. The current study indicated that the relationship between internet addiction and adolescent depression was fully mediated by stressful life events. The research revealed that “the indirect effect of Internet addiction on depression through the mediator of life events was statistically significant”. The entry discusses how internet addiction can cause adolescents to spend excessive time alone, on the internet. Spending excessive time using online media leads to a lack of social interaction potentially to academic failure, leading to “more stressful life events from study, peers, and family in real-world situations”, thus; the excessive use of online media leads to stressful life events, which are already “a well-established risk factor for depression”.

Two distinctive areas of the debate surrounding the effect of the internet on the mental health of individuals is the issue of pornography, and the positive influence of internet use can have on the elderly.

Pornography, as discussed in the entry The Pornography Problem (discussing the article “Use of Internet Pornography and Men's Well-Being, Philaretou, Andreas G; Mahfouz, Ahmed Y, Allen, Katherine R.” exposes the negative effect that the use of internet pornography (a specific form of online media) can have on the mental health of internet porn users described as “cybersex compulsives” negative in terms of “depression, anxiety, and problems with felt intimacy with their real-life partners”. Based on information gained through an interview process, the research team revealed that that the technological characteristics of “relative ease, anonymity, and affordability of establishing and maintaining sexual interactions we appealing to recreational, compulsive, and to at-risk users”. They also learnt, “that negative intrapersonal consequences for Cybersex compulsives and at-risk users in terms of experiencing considerable guilt, depression, anxiety, and a general inability to experience adequate intimacy with real-life partners”. Based on these findings, it is easy to see a clear connection between the use of specific forms of online media and a decline in the mental health of an individual.

The article “The Impact of the Internet on the Well-Being of Older Chinese, Xie, Bo” which was discussed in the entry “The Internet and the Elderly”, presents the salient finding of their study “The Internet Makes Life after Retirement More Meaningful”. This article promotes the internet as a tool for the elderly to improve their mental health through meaningful occupation, although this study was limited by cultural differences (many elderly Chinese are forced into early retirement and the use of the internet in China is often limited to the wealthy) the findings of this study are reinforced by numerous accounts from research conducted around the world.

Through the analysis of these articles, we can observe solid evidence that the use of some forms of online media have a significant negative effect on the mental health of individuals however without the addition of the key word ‘some’ to the statement “the use of online media has a negative effect on the mental health of individuals” is not easy to conform or to disprove. Despite this, I believe that within the articles discussed in this blog, there is more evidence that the effect of the use of online media on individuals is a negative effect, rather than a positive effect.   

Building Social Support On Line

Using the Internet to Build Social Support: Implications for Well-being and Hope
 Kathy Weingarten, PH.D.
When my friend Abby called my husband and me one Saturday night in April, I knew that it could only be bad news. Her voice was hyper-calm, as if emotion would splay her thoughts into fragments, like shrapnel through bone. And, good news can wait until morning.

Did we know how to arrange a medi-vac from Mexico to the United States she implored us, a question so out of range of our experience that contact and comfort had to be the sub-text. Moments before she had learned that her nephew, David Carmel--a young man who had been one of the founders of Jumpstart, a national, non-profit organization training college-students to help preschoolers prepare to succeed in school--had had an accident while diving into the waves in Mexico. On that April evening, she knew that he could not move his legs or hands, and that his sense of humor and compassion were intact. On vacation with friends, after his accident, he was still the consummate organizer. He had provided the phone numbers for the people he wanted called and suggested songs to sing while evacuating him from the beach.

My husband and I began making phone calls about the medi-vac. Superfluously. An hour later, armed with numbers, we called Abby to learn that he was already en route to a hospital in San Diego.

I kept in daily touch with Abby about David, his family, and her experience. In July, I learned that David's friends had designed a web page for him. Intrigued, I went to my computer, logged on, and was amazed by what I saw. 

Full article available online at psycnet.apa.org

Review 

This article shares the experience of Jehane Noujaim, a young woman and friend to paralysis victim David Carmel. Through Jehane’s experience, author Kathy Weingarten, PH.D, demonstrates the potential for the internet to be used as a tool for linking “a seriously ill or injured person to his community” and for establishing and sustaining practices of hope. The use and creation of online media as a tool for connecting family and friends to an individual who may otherwise miss out on valuable social interaction, is an example of online media being used to maintain and improve the social, and mental wellbeing of individuals (Weingarten – 2000). Which are both play a very important part in the mental health of an individual (Kawachi, Berkman – 2001).

 

Jehane’s learnt of her friend’s accident in April 2000. Over the phone, she was told that David Carmel (a young man and co-founder of the non for profit program jumpstart) had been injured in a diving accident in Mexico. Jehane kept in touch with David’s family and subsequently learned that a website had been created for him.

The website www.davidcarmel.com was designed to inform David’s friends and family about his condition and recovery, as well as allow them to keep in contact, schedule visits and find more information about paralysis in general.

According to David’s parents "The web site produced an outpouring from David's friends. He didn't have the strength to respond but it answered a question he had, 'Will people still be my friends if I'm in a wheelchair?' The web site answered that question. It said, 'Yes!' The beauty of the web site is that he can respond when he wants, when he is able..."

The website served to maintain the social and mental wellbeing, of both David and the people in his life. “David sees the purposes as those of informing and connecting”.  Kathy Weingarten extends upon David’s description of the purpose of the website by discussing how in her recent writings she has tried to think about the nature of intimacy, (Weingarten, 1999), and the nature of hope (Weingarten, 1991, 1992, 1997).  

“Hope, I believe, is not only a feeling but something we do with others. People can do hope together, and they often do so in community.”  The web site created to connect David Carmel with his community can be seen as an exemplar of "doing hope”.

. Weingarten states that as a profetinal who works with patients of seriously illness or injurury and their families, she understands the importance of social support, she belives that  “A web site (like www.davidcarmel.com ) provides a specific forum for a specific kind of social support, that which comes from participating in the collective practice of hope.”

Reference

Weingarten, K. - Using the Internet to Build Social Support: Implications for Well-being and Hope - Fam Syst & Health - 2000

Ichiro Kawachi, Lisa F. Berkman – social ties in mental health - Journal of Urban Health, 2001

Weingarten, K. - "The discourses of intimacy: Adding a social constructionist and feminist view" - Family Process - 1991

Weingarten, K. - "A consideration of intimate and non-intimate interactions in therapy" - Family Process - 1992

Weingarten, K. Doing Hope - Manuscript Submitted for Publication - 1999

  

The Mental Health of Yonger Users

Internet Use and Psychological Well-Being among 10-Year-Old and 11-Year-Old Children

Paula Devine & Katrina Lloyd, Child Care in Practice, 2012

This paper uses data from the 2009 Kids' Life and Times Survey, involving 3657 children aged 10 or 11 years old in Northern Ireland. The survey indicated high levels of use of Internet applications, including social-networking sites and online games. Using the KIDSCREEN-27 instrument, the data indicate that the use of social-networking sites and online games is related to poorer psychological well-being among girls, but not boys. Boys and girls who experience "cyberbullying" have poorer psychological well-being. This association between psychological well-being and some Internet applications merits more attention in future research and policy development.

Review 

The purpose of this article is to analyse data from the 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey (“involving 3657 children aged 10 or 11 years old in Northern Ireland representing a response rate of 30% of schools and 15% of pupils”) and in their analysis of this data, the research team argue that, the use of online media can have a negative effect on the mental health of 10 and 11 year old girls, but the evidence suggests that young boys are not effected in the same way (Devine & Lloyd – 2012) Devine & Lloyd are specifically interested in data that related to the physiological well-being of respondent’s, and the use of online with a focus on the two applications, social networking and multi-player online games (MPOG).

 The findings of the 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey revealed that almost all respondent’s (94%) lived in homes with access to the internet and that there are high levels of use among 10 and 11 year old children for both MPOGs and for social networking. In addition the data also indicates that the use of social-networking website sites and the use of online games is related to poorer psychological well-being among girls, but interestingly, not in boys.

The ‘high levels’ of usage, regarding on-line media in the 10 to 11 year old age group, is also providing an increased opportunity for cyber bullying. Cyber bullying which can be loosely defined as ‘‘sending or posting harmful or cruel text or engaging in other forms of social aggression using the Internet or other digital technologies’’ (Willard, 2007), and often associated with social networking platforms such as Facebook, Bebo or MySpace. Girls who said that they used Socal networking websites ‘‘a lot’’ were the group of individuals, that most likely to have “the lowest mean scores on the PWB scale, and the mean score among these children differed significantly from those who used SNS ‘‘a little’’, ‘‘hardly ever’’ or ‘‘never’’” The results of the Kids’ Life and Times Survey indicated that One in 10 of all respondents to the 2008 KLT had experienced cyberbullying either on the Internet or by mobile phone, this is an issue because both boys and girls who had experienced ‘‘cyberbullying’’ had a poorer state of psychological well-being.

Findings from the 2009 Kids’ Life and Times Survey suggested that the use of multi-player online games (MPOGs) had a statistically significant, negative effect on the psychological wellbeing of young girls, but not on young boys. The results show that “Girls who said they used MPOG ‘‘a lot’’ had the lowest mean scores and these mean scores differed significantly from those of girls who never played online games”

The article suggested that the increasing use of technology in schools should be accompanied by strategies to help, teachers and administrators become more knowledgeable about cyberbullying” in order to develop “appropriate preventive and intervention strategies to ensure the safety of all students.”

References
ARK -  Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 2010 - Research Councils UK - 2010

Paula Devine & Katrina Lloyd - Internet Use and Psychological Well- being among 10-year-old and 11-year-old Children - Child Care in Practice - 2012

The Elderly & The Internet

The Impact Of The Internet On The Well-Being Of Older Chinese

Xie, Bo. Care Management Journals (2007)

Abstract: This study examines the impact of the Internet on the well-being of older Chinese. Thirty-three older Chinese, who were current or former students of a senior-oriented computer training organization based in Shanghai, China, were interviewed about their use and perceptions of the Internet. Data analysis was guided by grounded theory. The findings indicate that Internet learning and use in this peer group makes these older Chinese's lives after retirement more meaningful, and improves their self-evaluations as well as other people's views of them. These findings suggest that Internet learning and use is positively associated with the well-being of these older Chinese. This study also finds culturally specific factors-including mandatory retirement and recent economic reforms in China-that mediate older Chinese people's use and perceptions of the Internet. Finally, societal implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.

Full article available at proquest.com (login may be required)

Review 

This article presents the findings of a study that focusses specifically on the Impact of the Internet on the well-being of older Chinese as well as highlighting the findings of a number of studies that show that the benefits gained by the elderly through the use of online media are universal.

One example from an early study focusses on residents in an urban retirement facility. This study indicated that amongst the elderly, computer games and online communication often accompanied “increased self-confidence and a decreased sense of loneliness” (Danowski & Sacks, 1980). Likewise a study conducted on residents of a long -term care facility “that computer and Internet use was associated with not only decreased levels of depression but also increased levels of daily activities and cognitive functioning” (McConatha, McConatha, & Dermigny, 1994). A two-year, at a Californian senior centre reported that “computer learning and use increased participants' learning and mental abilities, and provided them with a sense of accomplishment, self-confidence, and control over their environment” (Eilers, 1989). Other similar studies found that “learning and use of the Internet found that Internet use was positively associated with increased levels of communication and satisfaction with the amount of contact with others” (Bradley & Poppen, 2003). (Karavidas, Lim, & Katsikas, 2005) “greater Internet use was associated with a lower level of perceived life stress” (Wright, 2000). In another study, elderly respondent’s reported that “Internet use reduced their loneliness and enriched their lives.” Chen and Persson (2002)  a study conducted by Ryff in 1989 indicated that a “personal growth and purpose in life-were significantly higher than those of their age peers who did not use the Internet” Yet again, a study focusing on older Israeli Internet users and nonusers reported that, compared with nonusers” respondent’s also reported an “increased confidence in their ability to learn new technologies in later life” as-well as being  “more devoted to the present and the future instead of the past “

(Blit-Cohen & Litwin, 2004).

In the present study, 33 elderly Chinese all of which where current and former students (aged between 50 and 79 years) of a senior-oriented computer training organization based in Shanghai where asked a series of open ended questions, designed to investigate the influence that the use of online media has had on their wellbeing which included the following; Has using the Internet affected your life in any ways? Have you changed your ideas about what kind of person you are since you started using the Internet? Have other people changed their opinions about you since you started using the Internet?

The findings from this study strongly argued that the use of online media had a very positive effect on the overall wellbeing of elderly Chinese, many of the benefits that the respondent’s reported  from using the internet were directly related to mental health, including the “salient theme” that emerged from the study;  “The Internet Makes Life After Retirement More Meaningful”.  For example, one respondent answered the first question by saying that “After I retired, all that I felt was emptiness…I had many health problems at the time... Since I started learning computers at OldKids, I feel that now I have a new goal to pursue. Whatever I've learned makes me feel that I have accomplished something. So now I am very happy.” (Atian, female, 79), this article presents a number of similar stories and in doing so argues that the use of online media is beneficial to the mental health of individuals.

Reference 

The Impact Of The Internet On The Well-Being Of Older Chinese

Xie, Bo - The Impact Of The Internet On The Well-Being Of Older Chinese - Care Management Journals - (2007)

Danowski, J. A., & Sacks, W - Computer communication and the elderly - Experimental Aging Research - 1980

McConatha, D., McConatha, J. T., & Dermigny, R - The use of interactive computer services to enhance the quality of life for long-term care residents - The Gerontologist - 1994

Eilers, M. L. Older adults and computer education: "Not to have the world a closed door." - International Journal of Technology and Aging - 1989

Bradley, N., & Poppen, W. -  Assistive technology, computers and Internet may decrease sense of isolation for homebound elderly and disabled persons - Technology and Disability - 2003

Wright, K. B. - Computer-mediated social support, older adults, and coping - Journal of Communication - 2000

Chen, Y., & Persson, A. - Internet use among young and older adults: Relation to psychological well-being -  Educational Gerontology - 2002

Blit-Cohen, E., & Litwin, H - Elder participation in cyberspace: A qualitative analysis of Israeli retirees - Journal of Aging Studies 2004

The Pornography Problem 

Use of Internet Pornography and Men's Well-Being

Philaretou, Andreas G; Mahfouz, Ahmed Y; Allen, Katherine R. International Journal of Men's Health (Jun 30, 2005)

In their first large-scale study of online sexual activity, [Cooper], Boies, et al., (1999) reported that Cybersex users who spent 11 or more hours per week on various Cybersexual pursuits tended to experience a number of intrapersonal and interpersonal problems in their lives, of a financial, legal, occupational, relational, or personal nature (i.e., depression and anxiety). The researchers, however, noted that most Cybersex users considered their activity recreational, spending less than one hour per week in online sexual activities. In another study, Cooper, Putnam, Planchon, and Boies (1999) proposed three general Cybersex user categories: recreational, sexually compulsive, and at-risk. The first group pursues Cybersex activities for fewer than a couple of hours per week and does so strictly for sexual stimulation and entertainment. For such users, online sexual activities do not threaten their intrapersonal and interpersonal well-being. Eventually, recreational Cybersex users experience boredom with their pursuits and either decrease or abandon their Cybersexual behaviors (Leiblum, 1997). The sexually compulsive group includes individuals who have had sexual problems and who find Cybersex a convenient, discrete, and relatively inexpensive way to overcome them. Unfortunately, their Cybersexual pursuits become out of control and only come to worsen their initial sexual problems. The final at-risk category consists of individuals who find Cybersex an effective and efficient way to deal with the uncomfortable feelings of high stress, depression, dysthymia, and anxiety that tend to characterize their lives. These individuals often experience chronic difficulties accessing intimate emotions that would have enabled them to initiate and maintain meaningful interpersonal relationships (Kafka, 1993).

Full article available at proquest.com (Login may be required)

Review 

Although pornography existed long before the internet, the cybersex world has made explicit media more accessible than ever, with well over 100,000 Web sites offering erotic photos, videos, live sex acts, and Web-cam strip sessions (Carnes, 2001; Cooper, Boies, Maheu & Greenfield, 2001).  We have seen an escalation in the number of Visits to pornographic websites, with “some sites reporting as many as 50 million hits” (Worden, 2001). Although many of the users engaged in internet pornography consider themselves to be “recreational users” According to the Marital and Sexuality Centre and MSNBC (2002), 6.5% of the male Internet population reported spending nearly six hours per week engaging in Cybersex. (NB; Due to the quickly changing nature of the online environment, these statistic are likely to have experience significant change in the last 12 years) Users who invest “an inordinate amount of their time, money, and energy in the pursuit of Cybersex” are considered to be Cybersex compulsives, and it has been identified that such individuals often experience effect on their mental health negative in terms of “depression, anxiety, and problems with felt intimacy with their real-life partners”. (Philaretou, Andreas G; Mahfouz, Ahmed Y; Allen, Katherine R – 2005)

The purpose of this investigation is to clarify the intricacies and the effects of the use of internet pornography on individual well-being through ethnographic (aimed at researching cultural phenomena) field research. This study has been designed answer the questions, “What are the various technological characteristics that render Cybersex considerably appealing to recreational, compulsive, and at-risk users?” that is, ‘what technological characteristics exist that make cybersex so appealing to different users?’ and, “What are some of the social-psychological characteristics of compulsive and at-risk users?” in other words ‘what social-psychological characteristics can we use to identify compulsive and at-risk users”.

The study found, through an interview process; that the technological characteristics of relative ease, anonymity, and affordability of establishing and maintaining sexual interactions we appealing to recreational, compulsive, and to at-risk users. Additional findings were, “that negative intrapersonal consequences for Cybersex compulsives and at-risk users in terms of experiencing considerable guilt, depression, anxiety, and a general inability to experience adequate intimacy with real-life partners” 

The information gathered through the interview process also supported the findings of  Kafka, 1993; Schneider, 1994, who identified a compulsive user, as a user with “the inability to stop the activity and control its intensity when he/she chooses to do so”, For example, one respondent admitted to spending a maximum of 12 hours per week on internet pornography, this man also admitted to “feeling guilty and depressed as a result”, another respondent disclosed that he felt considerable guilt for “spending 14 hours per week searching for free porno pictures.”

Through this investigation, designed to explore the intricacies and the effects of the use of internet pornography,  Philaretou, Andreas G; Mahfouz, Ahmed Y, Allen, and Katherine R have argued that the use of online media does have a negative effect on the mental health of individuals, and without investigating any of the moral significances of the cybersex world, they have highlighted the psychological consequences of excessive use of internet pornography.

Reference

Philaretou, Andreas G Mahfouz, Ahmed Y Allen, Katherine R. -  Use of Internet Pornography and Men's Well-being  - international Journal of Men's Health - 2005

Carnes - In the shadows of the net: Breaking free from compulsive online sexual behavior - Hazelden Foundation Press - 2001

Cooper A - Cybersex users, abusers, and compulsives: New findings and implications. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity -  The Journal of Treatment and Prevention - 2001

Kafka M.P. - Update on paraphilias and paraphilia-related disorders - Currents in Affective Illness - 1993

The Positive Effect of Online Depression Communities

Challenging the Internet Paradox: Online Depression Communities and Well-Being  

Galit Nimrod, Ben-Gurion - University of the Negev, Israel

Abstract: This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the association between the intensity of participation in online depression communities and the benefits users gain from participation. The study was based on an online survey of 631 users in 16 English language-based online depression communities. Results indicated that there were several differences between heavy, medium and light users with regard to their participation patterns, but they did not differ in their background characteristics and hardly varied in their interests. There were also no differences between the groups in their level of depression. However, there were many significant differences in perceived benefits gained, which demonstrated that heavy users reported receiving emotional support online and experiencing offline improvement more than medium and light users, and medium users reported these benefits more than light users. These findings suggest that contrary to some previous arguments regarding possible adverse consequences of intensive Internet use, heavy use of online depression communities is associated with positive results. Thus, it may even contribute to the general well-being of people with depression. Future research of the various associations between Internet use and psychological well-being should examine specific online activities, and explore diverse audiences including disadvantaged populations.

Full article available at the International Journal of Internet Science website. 

Review 

“This study explores the intensity of participation in online depression communities and the benefits users gain from participation (Nimrod , Gurion – 2013)”.  In doing this it sheds a positive light on the use of online media, arguing that “heavy use of online depression communities is associated with positive results” (Nimrod , Gurion – 2013) as well as opposing the view that the use of online media has a negative effect on the mental health of individuals.

One of the purposes of this study is to challenge the ‘Internet Paradox’ which argues that, even though online media can be used for social interaction, it reduces social involvement and that a lack of social involvement leads to depression among heavy users. The study challenges this idea this by showing that many individuals are using online media to enhance their mental health and wellbeing. These findings are based on an online survey which was completed by 1000 members from 16 reputable online depression communities. Of these, 631 surveys were analysed, after screening out questionnaires with unsigned the consent forms, questionnaires with less than 80% of the questions answered and those completed by respondents who identified themselves as “newcomers to the community from which they were referred to the survey”.

One of the most salient findings of this this study was the lack of significant difference between the level of depression observed in those who identified themselves as ‘heavy users of online depression communities’ (respondents who claim to use online depression communities on a daily-basis) those who identified themselves as medium users (weekly users i.e., “between one and four times a week”) and those who identified themselves as light users (others i.e., those who use online depression communities less than once a week”. As well as a lack of difference in the level of depression between the three identified segments, the results did not show any significant difference in the background characteristics (age, gender, economic status, education, family status, health perception, and state of residence). Despite the significant lack of in difference between depression levels of heavy, medium and light users, the ‘level of benefit’ reported by heavy users was significantly higher than that reported by medium and light users and the ‘level of benefit’ reported by medium users was significantly higher than that of than light users. According to the research team “The fact that the heavy users were not more depressed than medium and light users, but at the same time reported more improvement in their condition (e.g., more hope and better coping) suggests that had they not participated in the communities, they would have suffered a higher level of depression.”  Other studies that where mentioned, show how users of  online depression communities “felt less isolated the community provided them with help and understanding, an outlet for expression, and a place to turn when alone, and that participation was a process that led to a sense of relief and to a change in their lives” ( Alexander, Peterson, & Hollingshead, 2003, Barak, 2007).

Galit Nimrod, Ben-Gurion’s study suggests that “for participants in online depression communities, the “Internet paradox” does not exist.” Instead, it argues that the use of online media can have a very positive effect on the mental health of individuals.

Reference 

Galit Nimrod, Ben-Gurion - Challenging the Internet Paradox: Online Depression Communities and Well-Being  University of the Negev, Israel - 2013

Alexander S.C , Peterson, J.L  & Hollingshead A. - Help is at your keyboard: support groups on the 

Internet - Group communication in context 2nd edition- 2003

Barak A. - Emotional support and suicide prevention through the Internet: A field project report. 

Computers in Human Behavior - 2007

Adolescents & Internet Addiction

 

Internet addiction, adolescent depression, and the mediating role of life events: Findings from a sample of Chinese adolescents

Linsheng Yang, Liang Sun, Zhihua Zhang, Yehuan Sun, Hongyan Wu, and Dongqing Ye

Abstract: The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of life events in the relation between Internet addiction and depression using an adolescent sample in China. A total of 3507 urban adolescent students were asked to complete the questionnaires including Young’s Internet Addiction Scale, Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist, and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Parent–Child Conflict Tactics Scales, and demographic characteristics. Path analyses demonstrated that life events fully mediated the relationship between Internet addiction and adolescent depression. Specificity for the mediating role of life events was demonstrated in comparison to alternative competing mediation models. The findings support our hypothesis that the effect of Internet addiction on adolescent depression is mediated by the life events. Further research is required to test the temporal relationship between Internet addiction and adolescent depression and explore mechanisms underlying the pathways leading to adolescent depression.

full article available at Wiley online library.

 Review

Internet addiction, adolescent depression, and the mediating role of life events is a study designed to examine the relationship between internet addiction and adolescent depression, and whether and/or how this relationship is mediated by recent life events (Yang, Sun, Zhang, Sun, Wu, & Ye - 4014). The research team was especially interested ‘stressful life events’ which are already “a well-established risk factor for depression” (Wang - 2011). 

The research team hypothesised that “Internet addiction is related to later depression among adolescents, and this relationship is mediated by stressful life events”. The hypothesis ( that Internet addiction is related to later depression among adolescents… ) was tested on a total of, 3798 students (1971 male and 1827 female), aged 14–17 years who were randomly selected for the study from secondary and intermediate schools in Hefei city of the Anhui Province, East China. These students participated in a ‘cross-sectional examination’ by completing a series of questioners focusing on internet addiction, recent life events, depressive symptoms and childhood abuse experience.

The results of this study support the argument ‘The use of online media has a negative effect on the mental health of individuals’, according to the research team, “the findings clearly supported our hypothesis” (that “the effect of internet addiction on adolescent depression is fully mediated by life events”). The statistics supporting these claims are demonstrated in figure 2 this image shows the paths between the four factors of Internet addiction, recent life events, depressive symptoms and childhood abuse experience which were measured in the study.

We can see from these results that in this study, the direct path from internet addiction to depression was not statistically significant (‘β=.05, p=.13’) however the  hypothesized model (that the relationship between internet addiction and adolescent depression was fully mediated by stressful life events) fit the data well. The research revealed that “the indirect effect of Internet addiction on depression through the mediator of life events was statistically significant (p<.01).”  The factor ‘childhood abuse experience’ was included in the study to examine the possibility, that the relationship between internet addiction , adolescent depression and  stressful life events could be explained by other common factors such as child abuse, as this possibility has been suggested in pervious study’s on this relationship. (Yates, Gregor, & Haviland, 2012; Zhang et al., 2009). According to the research team “Confidence in the importance of stressful life events as a specific mediator of the relationship between Internet addiction and depression would be further strengthened if such relationship existed even after adjustment for child abuse.” (Yang, Sun, Zhang, Sun, Wu, & Ye - 4014) and the hypothesis (that the relationship between internet addiction and adolescent depression was fully mediated by stressful life events) was still strongly supported by the data collected in ‘cross-sectional examination’ the even after adjusting for child abuse.

The research team also suggested that the social displacement model (Kraut et al., 1998 that internet addiction can cause adolescents to spend excessive time alone, on the internet, this leads to a lack of social interaction and to academic failure, leading to “more stressful life events from study, peers, and family in real-world situations”.) is a very likely explanation of how internet addiction, when mediated by stressful life events can lead to adolescent depression.   

Reference.

Internet addiction, adolescent depression, and the mediating role of life events: Finding from a sample of Chinese adolescents,- Linsheng Yang, Liang Sun, Zhihua Zhang, Yehuan Sun, Hongyan Wu, and Dongqing Ye - Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China - 2014