Teen Depression Risk Increases with Excessive Internet Use

Teens that live on the Internet are more likely to be severely depressed, according to a recent study. Teens that spend five or more hours per day on the Internet are classified as excessive Internet users, and as such, are 1.5 times more likely than other teens to develop depression.

Lawrence Lam, a researcher from the Notre Dame School of Medicine at Sydney University, studied more than 1,000 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18. The teens were all from China’s Guangzhou city and none of them were suffering from any depression prior to the commencement of the research.

After 9 months, 84 of the teens were diagnosed with depression, and those who spent excessive amounts of time on the Internet were more likely to be suffering from the condition.

“Some spend more than 10 hours a day, they are really problematic users and they show signs and symptoms of addictive behavior … browsing the Internet, playing games,” said Lam. “They can’t get their minds off the Internet, they feel agitated if they don’t get back on after a short period of being away.”

The results revealed that even mentally healthy teens, if spending too much time on the Internet, may be more prone to depression. Lam speculates that the depression could be due to lack of sleep, or even from the stress of competing in online games.

Experts suggest that school screenings, education, and more oversight from parents may help prevent teens from becoming addicted to or excessively using the Internet.