New research out of China finds that kids who spend an excessive amount of time online are at increased risk of becoming depressed teens. Dr. Lawrence Lam of the School of Medicine in Sydney studied over 1,000 teenagers and their Internet usage for nine months.
Lam studied 1,041 teens aged 13 to 18 from high schools in Guangzhou, China, and measured internet use with the Pathological use of the Internet Test (including such questions as "How often do you feel depressed, moody or nervous when you are offline, which goes away once you are back online?" [Source: Psych Central]
At the end of nine months, depression was two-and-a-half times as prevalent among teens who had “problematic” Internet-use habits. Dr. Lam believes his study shows a more concrete cause-and-effect relationship between excessive Internet use and depression.
Labels: depression, internet
Posted By: Aspen Education Group