Recently, there has been growing concern about the potential dangers of internet technologies and mobile phones on mental health. This prompted researchers to conduct a study involving two million participants aged 15 to 89 from 168 countries.
Mental health is a state of emotional well-being that allows individuals to fully realize their potential, manage their emotions, cope with life’s challenges, and work productively.
Scientists from Oxford found no evidence that new technologies are harmful to the mental health of modern individuals. The researchers are confident that if a connection between internet use and poor mental health truly existed, they would have detected it.
However, the researchers did not examine social media usage or analyze how much time participants spent online.
What the Scientists Found
A team led by Professor Andrew Przybylski from the Oxford Internet Institute and research fellow Matti Vuorre analyzed the use of broadband and mobile connectivity in home settings. They ultimately concluded that any radical claims about the negative impact of these technologies should be approached with “a very high level of skepticism.”
The scientists studied data on mental health and emotional well-being of internet users from various countries between 2000 and 2019, focusing on levels of anxiety, depression, and instances of self-harm.
The analysis did not reveal any specific patterns related to age groups or the gender of participants. However, according to the team, during the study period, women in “average countries” reported increased life satisfaction, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“We searched very carefully for a connection between technology and poor mental health, but we did not find one,” concluded Professor Przybylski. Thus, the popular notion that the internet and mobile phones negatively affect mental health is unlikely to be true.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science.