The web isn't so depressing after all

The web isn't so
depressing after all

Boosts sense of well being, notably for extroverts

By Marty Beard

   Questions may abound about the internet's future as an ad-supported medium, especially in the ongoing ad slowdown, but there is some good news out there.
    Surfing the web isn't quite the depressing experience social scientists were thinking it was several years ago.
    A number of people, especially extroverts, benefit from the time they spend online.
    "We’re seeing positive effects for a lot of people now," says Sara Keisler, one of the scientists behind a soon-to-be-published study from Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interaction Institute, titled "The Internet Paradox Revisited."
    While this conclusion may appear to make perfect sense to lay people, it runs counter to an earlier conclusion by the research team.
    Three years ago, the institute reported that internet users developed feelings of isolation and sadness, interacted less with their families, and lost touch with their friends in the real world.
    Researchers called that phenomenon the "Internet Paradox" because in the so-called real world, interpersonal communication tends to have a positive effect on mental health.
    That report, it should be noted, stirred some controversy, with detractors saying it was defective because the sample size was small and there was no control group.
    After following up with many of the same subjects from the first study, the researchers conclude that these harmful side effects of internet use have all but evaporated.
    That’s at least in part because the internet has become a mainstream medium in the last few years, an effect referred to as "domesticating." The web has become a more sociable milieu than it used to be, according to the study.
    Additionally, many of the study’s subjects have become more accustomed to using the internet, which has reduced frustration levels. They are also spending less time online because they now know their way around the web and email.
    Still, researchers found, some benefit more than others.
   People who already have stronger connections to their friends and family fare better than people who have only weak interpersonal relationships.
     Extroverts who use the internet generally like themselves better than they did before they started going online, the study says. They are less lonely and in a better mood.
    But it’s a different story for shy folks. Too much internet use still appears to reinforce introverts’ innate tendencies toward isolation and depression.
    Introverts also tend to use the internet more for entertainment than for social interaction or communication, the study says, which could be another factor in how the internet influences their mental health.
    "There’s still the fact that we’ve got this negative effect for people who are introverts," Kiesler says. "We’re wondering why that is. We don’t really know the answer."
    Yet loneliness and unhappiness among introverts aren’t the only persistently negative effects of the internet.
    The study determined that stress levels increase as people use the internet more often, particular among the older set. As internet use increases, adults’ stress levels escalated more than teens’ stress levels.
    Again, the researchers aren’t completely sure why, particularly since their sample of internet users now has more online experience.
    "Using computers can be very frustrating," Keisler says. "It’s still true that things go wrong. You look for information and you can’t find it.
    "And maybe people are trying to do too many things, so their lives just get more stressful. I don’t know. It’s only speculation. But it is a consistent effect we keep getting."
    Keisler says that it’s too soon to look for remedies for the internet's negative effects on some users.
    "You can’t really make policy recommendations until you know why these things are happening," she says.
    "Nobody knows if it’s because of the way people spend their time, if it’s because of how they use the internet, or because of the kinds of people that communicate on the internet."
    The study examined the online habits of 208 web users in 93 Pittsburgh-area families.

-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.

Printer-Friendly Version | Send to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact Us