Web surfing and depression??

[SassyLady]

Do you think surfing the web causes depression or that people who are depressed spend more time on web than the norm?

Does this mean that all of us here are depressed?

Surfing the Web Can Make You Depressed


Psychologists have found evidence of a strong link between time spent surfing the Web and depression.


A new study has found a strong link between time spent surfing the Internet and depression.
Psychologists have found evidence of a strong link between time spent surfing the Web and depression. The longer people spend on the Internet, the less likely they are to be happy, according to researchers.

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 in a study published in Psychopathology Journal.

A small group of the worst-affected individuals were both depressed and addicted, a study by the Institute of Psychological Sciences at the University of Leeds found. But it is 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, study leader Catriona Morrison said.

The rest of the article:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/...-+SciTech%2529

[crin63]

I figure its just because those who are depressed lock themselves away and end up on the computer because it simulates life without actually having to live it.

[SassyLady]

I figure its just because those who are depressed lock themselves away and end up on the computer because it simulates life without actually having to live it.

Good observation ....... I never surfed the web until I got a laptop and hubby was mobilized for a year ........spent a lot of time surfing the web to keep from being so lonely.

He is now stationed (and lives) 2 hours away and travels more than he is home so here I am again ......... spending my time talking to you guys.

However, I just started as a rep for a new business and this is taking up quite a bit of my time.