Social media causes significant impact on users' mental health
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Excessive internet browsing could lead to depression, new research has suggested
By Simret Samra
People who spend a lot of time online were more likely to show symptoms that linked to depression, with some users developing compulsive internet habits, according to research from the University of Leeds.
These habits included increasingly replacing real-life social interactions on social networking sites and chat forums, with the results impacting significantly on users’ mental health.
Dr Catriona Morrison, lead author of the study at the University of Leeds, said: “There is a small subset of the population who find it hard to control how much time they spend online, to the point where it interferes with their daily activities.”
She added that: “The research indicated that excessive internet use is associated with depression, but what we don’t know is which comes first – are depressed people drawn to the internet or does the internet cause depression.
“What is clear is that excessive use of the internet could be a warning signal for depressive tendencies.”
The study found that 1.2 per cent of respondents were internet addicted, which is twice the 0.6 per cent figures for UK gambling addicts.
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