Net Misery

British psychologists have discovered that people who spend a considerable time online are less likely to be happy than those who don’t, claiming there’s “a dark side” to web surfing. “A small group of the worst affected individuals were both depressed and addicted. But it was not clear whether using the internet causes mental health problems, or whether people with mental health problems are drawn to the internet. More work is needed to answer this ‘’chicken and egg’ question, say the researchers. Dr Catriona Morrison, from the Institute of Psychological Sciences at the University of Leeds, who led the study, said: ‘The internet now plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are accompanied by a darker side.’ The scientists employed the internet to carry out their research. An online questionnaire was used to assess levels of internet dependency and depression in 1,319 individuals ranging in age from 16 to 51. In general, the longer people spent online the more depressed they tended to be, the scientists found.”