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Are You a Lonely Saddo? Thought Not!

May 19th, 2008 · by David Bradley >> 11 Comments

Internet saddoHow are you feeling? Working or playing long hours? Spending too much time checking Tweets and Pownces, Facebook pages, emails, scrolling through RSS feeds? Is all this social media and Web 2.0 getting you down? Seriously, is the Internet a sad, depressing world and is it storing up mental health problems?

Those are the kinds of questions a learning science specialist in the UK is asking. And his answers may not surprise the enthusiasts who embrace modern media, but will confound the luddites and late-adopters who prefer to imagine that the Internet is somehow a denizen of misery, a friendless place for losers and loners.

“While the internet has become part of our critical infrastructure, its popularity has created a stir in the mental health community,” says Patrick Kierkegaard, “as clinicians are blaming the internet for causing depression and loneliness.”

There have been numerous studies that have concluded that the apparent detachment from face-to-face human contact that increasing reliance on modern electronic communications technology brings is likely to cause many individuals long-term problems. Problems such as a simple feeling of detachment from the “real” world for teleworkers and others who might spend several hours a day online to the kind of feelings of paranoia and loss that can ensue when an internet connection is interrupted and email becomes inaccessible or when a favorite site, such as Twitter, Facebook, or even Flickr is down.

Kierkegaard points out that, “The interactive, engaging technology that fosters relationships through tools such as e-mail, discussion groups and online chat is now being blamed for replacing apparently vital, everyday human communication.” Worryingly, for the mental health experts, this is leading to the possibility that such prolonged exposure to avatars and anonymized characters behind a web browser window could lead to serious depression whether you’re a young MySpacer or a LinkedIn silver-surfer power user.

“Several scholars have accused the internet of having antisocial consequences and its popular image as a relationship builder has been debunked by experts, who suggest that social bonds may be breaking down because of it,” adds Kierkegaard.

As with many sociological studies, the researchers may have preconceived notions about what they expect to find. Humans and their relationships are far too complicated to fit neatly into stereotypical research results, however, and Kierkegaard’s study of the data and conclusions from a whole range of studies seemingly puts paid to the simplistic conclusion that the Internet is breaking down social ties and causing depression. Indeed, the really sad aspect of his findings is that some of the potential of the Internet has been vastly compromised by the preconceptions and biases inherent in the research of various psychologists and sociologists.

There is, according to Kierkegaard actually more evidence to suggest that rather than causing depression, electronic communication is making ties between individuals stronger and facilitating the formation of new, close and meaningful relationships that would never have existed without technology. Of course, there may some susceptible individuals who do suffer problems as a result of prolonged computer use, but it is more likely to be the case that those people would suffer regardless of screen time. Indeed, for an earlier generation of computer users there was nothing but another computer at the end of their modem. Today, you are far more likely to be interacting with another person when logged on, than a Turing machine.

Patrick Kierkegaard (2008). Is the internet a sad, depressing world? International Journal of Liability and Scientific Enquiry, 1 (4) DOI: 10.1504/IJLSE.2008.018284

11 responses so far ↓

  • Ajiga Isaac // Jun 23, 2008 at 6:35 pm

    I really like the write up and would want to join you in writing

  • David Bradley // Jun 23, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Ajiga

    Glad you liked the article, do you check out the rest of the site and comment widely, that’s what we’re here for ;-)

  • Ajiga Isaac // Jun 30, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    This is equally nice but i would like to join you in writing some day.

  • David Bradley // Jun 30, 2008 at 8:43 pm

    Ajiga, do you have a specific idea you’d like to cover in-depth here. I could find a slot for a guest appearance if you’re up to speed on a topical issue.

  • Ajiga Isaac // Jul 9, 2008 at 2:03 pm

    I feel any topic given to me relating to social sciences i’ll be able to tackle it. Right now am working on an article titled ”Youth perceptions of human security in Africa” i don’t know if u gat any material or write up that can assist me in my work

  • David Bradley // Jul 9, 2008 at 2:11 pm

    Ajiga, unfortunately not, I don’t tend to cover social sciences per se, but I will keep an eye on the research literature in case anything of that nature comes my way.

  • Ajiga Isaac // Jul 9, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    Any topic given to me relating to social sciences i think i’ll be able to tackle it. Right now am working on an article titled ”Youth perceptions of human security in africa” if u have any article on related issues you can pls assist me with them thanks

  • Ann Tamplin // Aug 6, 2008 at 1:37 pm

    I don’t see how electronic communication can make any worthwhile ties between people to form “strong & meaningful” relationships. For me the computer is my own personal library with endless information but I find it very worrying that people are using it to make relationships. I like to see the person, watch their expressions, hear their voice etc etc. Kids are disappearing into their rooms for hours & not talking to parents or friends. We are losing the “human touch”.

  • David Bradley // Aug 6, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Yes, I agree to some extent, but there are some people who don’t necessarily live in a safe neighbourhood or even in a neighbourhood at all, and there are millions of people with various physical problems, who can make “real” friends in the virtual world who are often excluded the human touch.

    Certainly, there are issues with children spending too much time in their rooms, but kids will always find an excuse to avoid talking to their parents with or without technology.

  • Richard Alan Cowling // Oct 20, 2008 at 3:44 pm

    Interesting article — I’m founding a mental health social enterprise which inturn has founded a mental health online social network … founded because as a mental distress sufferer I found that online social media and social networking … really helped me to feel less isolated and has actually led to an improvement in my mental health as I have more friends and a support network, for sharing and caring, now!!! It has actually led to real friendships where real friendship were originally hard to form before online networking … I have now met up with people at tweet-ups and the like … and have dev’d real friendships with like minded people … so the online support network is http://NET.mesomoco.org.uk (where you can learn more by reading the landing page) and the URL for my social enterprise (where all profits go back into the community) is http://mesomoco.org.uk Rich :)

  • David Bradley // Oct 20, 2008 at 4:59 pm

    Richard – I’ll check out your site and may do a follow up post, or perhaps you’d like to write a guest post on the subject of how social media can benefit the lives of those with mental health issues…? Let me know.

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