9 September 2010

Spending hours surfing the internet could trigger depression, says Epidemiologist Associate Professor Lawrence Lam, of The University of Notre Dame Australia.

Associate Professor Lam, of the Sydney School of Medicine, says he has found a number of concerning trends in studies documenting the link between mental illness and pathological internet use.

Although the majority of studies have found excessive online behaviour is often a symptom of anxiety and depression, Associate Professor Lam says those without  clearly defined mental illness are still at risk.

 “The results indicate that people who use the Internet pathologically are most at risk of mental problems and will most likely develop depression if they continue with that behaviour,” he says.

“This sort of behaviour may still be a manifestation of some more insidious, underlying problems, but even mentally healthy young people can succumb to depression after long exposure to problematic use of the Internet.”

Associate Professor Lam says early warning signs of obsessive internet use could be a ‘red flag’ for underlying depression.
“Online behaviour might be a useful screening tool for identifying symptoms in youngsters and especially teens who could be at the highest risk of developing anxiety and depression.

“The mental health consequences of problematic Internet use for those who already have a history of psychological or psychiatric problems can be quite damaging.”

In an effort to determine whether the risk was substantial for those without pre-existing mental illness, Associate Professor Lam and colleague, Zi-Wen Peng, at Sum Yat-Sen University Guangzhou, China, decided to take a closer look at the issue.
Using a database of more than 1000 high school students in Guangzhou, the pair assessed Internet use and mental health status over a period of nine months.

At the start of the study, approximately 6 percent of students met the criteria for pathological Web surfing based on their answers to a survey assessing addiction to the internet.  These students reported feeling moody, nervous or uncomfortable when they were not on the computer.

Nine months later, symptoms of anxiety and depression, for participants reporting a higher rate of addiction to the Internet, were 2.5 times more than that of their less ‘web devoted’ counterparts.

Professor Lam says this finding was also true for students who did not show signs of depression in the beginning of the study.

“This study has a direct implication for the prevention of mental illness among young people,” he says.

Media Contact: Moira Saunders
02 8204 4407