A group of researchers say they hope their new discovery could lead to developing software tools to help identify Internet users’ depressive behaviours. According to the researchers, the amount and type of online activities exhibited by Internet users may be indicators of depression.
The patterns of Internet use, including obsessive checking of emails, watching many videos, and switching frequently among multiple apps, describe the depressive behaviours of the Internet users, the researchers say. The findings can help users understand their mental-wellbeing.
The researchers from the Missouri University of Science and Technology said they found that respondents who showed signs of depression tended to use “Internet differently” from those who exhibited no signs of depression.
The researchers surveyed 216 college students to determine their depressive tendencies before interviewing the school’s information technology department to examine the student’s browser habits.
Analysis
They later conducted a statistical analysis of the depression scores and Internet usage patterns.
The survey found that 30 percent of the respondents met the criteria for depressive symptoms.
The researchers told the New York Times they afterwards found a correlation between high depression scores and greater instances of sharing files such as music and movies.
The researchers say they hope the data could be essential for developing software that can be installed on PCs and mobile devices to monitor Internet usage as well as alert users if usage patterns suggest symptoms of depression.
The software might also be a tool for parents to monitor their children’s mood-related browsing habits.
This would not replace the function of mental health professionals, but it could be a cost-effective way to trigger people to seek medical help early, the researchers say.
Previous Studies
Previous studies found that participants with depression symptoms tended to engage a pattern of Internet usage including obsessive e-mail usage.
South African Depression and Anxiety Group says early intervention and prevention that targets at-risk groups with identified risk factors is effective in reducing the burden of depression among young people,
A 2010 study of Chinese teenagers examined over 9-month period found that teenagers who used the Internet in a pathological manner were more than 2 times more likely to develop severe depression.
Another 2010 study revealed that people who used the Internet three to five times a week to find information about their health conditions had significantly higher symptoms of depression than those who only did so occasionally.
According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group, there is a link between problematic Internet usage and mental health.
However, the link may not be unidirectional when it comes to pathologic Internet use but rather a “vicious cycle” where problematic Internet use increases social isolation and withdrawal, which leads to more problematic Internet use
Internet Research Still in Infancy in Africa
Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, University of Washington, Seattle, told Medscape Medical News that research on problematic Internet use is still in its infancy in part as science has not been able to keep up with all of the various forms of activities that keep Internet users online.
“People who are susceptible to depression are already more prone to social isolation and withdrawal and therefore more likely to develop problematic internet usage because the Internet provides an outlet for them,” Dr. Christakis observed.
The same could be said of Africa.
The new study will be published in a forthcoming issue of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine.
