Those who are severely addicted to the World Wide Web are more likely to be depressed, according to a study published in the Psychopathology journal. The Leeds University study found that people who were identified as Internet addicts had higher incidences of moderate to severe depression than a group of non-Internet addicts. The research also showed that the “addicts” were more likely to browse online communities, gaming websites and sites with what is defined as sexually gratifying content.

Dr. Catriona Morrison, the lead author of the work, said it is still not clear which comes first - “are depressed people drawn to the internet or does the internet cause depression?”

People answered the questionaire-based survey after clicking on a link on United Kingdom social networking sites. Of the 1,319 people, ranging in ages from 16 to 51, who answered the study 18 (1.4 per cent) were found to be addicted to the Internet. This is certainly a very small number. The study used a group of 18 non-Internet addicts for comparision purposes. Although these are small groups, there does appear to some connection between depression and Internet addiction.

As parents, we need to educate ourselves about how long our children are online and what they are doing. Useful parental controls tools, such as PGsurfer, can help guide children by blocking inappropriate content. As well, it can control how long they use the computer weekly.

For more information about safe surfing and keeping your family safe online, please check out the Websafe section of SafeSurfer.org.

Robin

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