(31-08-10) oo much internet use can lead to depression in young people

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

A new report published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine has revealed that young people who spend too much time on the internet
are more likely to be depressed than those who use it moderately.
"Pathological" internet use is linked to causing other problems as well such as
poor physical health, relationship problems, aggressive behaviors and even
psychological disorders.

For the study, the research team evaluated the mental health and internet use
patterns of more than 1,000 Chinese teenagers. At the start of the study, the
teenagers filled out questionnaires about their feelings both on- and off-line,
and how often they used the internet. The researchers also evaluated the mental
health patterns of the teens.

After nine months, researchers again evaluated the participants to see what
had developed. They found that young people with internet addiction are 250
percent more likely to develop depression than young people without it.

"This result suggests that young people who are initially free of mental
health problems but use the internet pathologically could develop depression as
a consequence," explain the study authors in their paper.

Study authors suggest that schools start to screen children for internet
addiction as part of an early prevention strategy.

"Certain symptoms of internet addiction are similar to those in other types of
addictive behavior. These including cravings (in this case, for more time on
the computer), neglecting family members and friends, moodiness when not using
the computer, and lying to people about the amount of time spent on the
internet," explains Jack Challem in his book The Food-Mood Solution: All-
Natural Ways to Banish Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Stress, Overeating, and
Alcohol and Drug Problems--and Feel Good Again.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...

Source: NaturalNews

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