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Internet Use, Psychological Effects of
The ever-growing availability and accessibility of the Internet has prompted a considerable amount of research investigating the various ways in which Internet use can affect important psychological variables, such as people's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. In general, the psychological consequences of Internet use have been examined from two distinct perspectives—the amount of Internet use and the motivations behind it, each with a host of both positive and negative psychological effects. Most recent findings result from two large longitudinal studies developed at Carnegie Mellon University and designed to document antecedents and consequences of home Internet use for the general population (HomeNet Project), as well as for the low-income population (HomenetToo Project). A similar project, Internet and Society, was conducted at Stanford University. Typical psychological outcome considerations are depression, social isolation, loneliness, addiction, academic performance, and civic engagement. Although most research in this area involves college students and American adults, the findings are applicable to children and adolescents as well, with important implications for their psychological development.
Amount of Internet Use
The first strand of research investigating psychological effects of Internet use conceptualizes Internet use by focusing on the amount of use (heavy vs. light). In this tradition, research has revealed that the heavier the Internet use by children and teenagers, the more negative the impact on their depression, loneliness, and social isolation, and the greater the risk of Internet addiction. This pattern of results has been typically attributed to a displacement effect; that is, the time spent using the Internet comes at the cost of involvement in everyday, face-to-face social activities. Internet use is not only associated with reduced social involvement but also with declines in overall psychological well-being. Robert Kubey of Rutgers University and his colleagues found that Internet use is associated with declines in academic performance among college students. Depression and new psychological disorders spurred by Internet use, such as Internet dependency, are likely to lead not only to social withdrawal but also to less time spent studying and therefore to poorer academic performance.
Somewhat contradictory findings and theorizing have contributed to a debate about the role of Internet use in promoting and hindering civic engagement and participation. On the one hand, such scholars as Cass Sunstein have suggested that the ability to customize and personalize online content leads to selective exposure to information that is consistent with one's already-established beliefs, thereby decreasing openness to different perspectives and constructive dialogue and ultimately limiting participation in the public sphere. On the other hand, scholars such as Shanto Iyengar have suggested that constructive dialogue and civic engagement are enhanced by this very customization ability in that it also enables users to be more purposive and pro-active in their perusal of online content. Further, it is claimed that this increased user control leads to a corresponding increase in civic engagement.
Motivations for Internet Use
Researchers have also acknowledged the limitations of treating Internet use as a monolithic concept by suggesting that there is no one main effect of Internet use on the average person, so we should consider the differential patterns, modes, and motivations of Internet use. Thus, when the patterns and motivations for Internet use are taken into account, most of the results mentioned above have been further parsed out to reflect a specific set of circumstances, fostering both positive and negative consequences of Internet use. For example, although amount of Internet use overall appears to negatively impact depression and loneliness, this holds true mainly when users go online to meet other people or for entertainment purposes. Dominant uses of the Internet, such as communication with family and friends and information seeking, do not affect depression, social isolation, or loneliness; on the contrary, they might lead to one's overall well-being and social network extension, a finding that holds across all age groups. Likewise, a large survey conducted by David Greenfield has demystified the concept of Internet addiction by revealing that, for all age groups, Internet dependency is fostered not by the overall amount of Internet use, but rather by specific uses of the Internet. Some of the Web activities that are more prone to lead to Internet addiction are chat rooms, visiting pornography sites, online shopping, and e-mail communication. Further, academic performance has been shown to also be differentially affected, depending on the type of Internet use. Although studies with college students have revealed that academic performance is lowered by Internet use for recreational and communication purposes, especially when communication is synchronous (such as in instant messaging and chat rooms), a HomeNetToo study conducted with children showed that academic performance is enhanced by heavily text-based, general Web use.
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