Internet addicted kids more depressed

Adolescent students with problematic and irresistible urge to use internet are more likely to become depressed, aggressive and even drug addicts.

A study of more than 3,500 high school students in the state of Connecticut, US showed that problematic internet user teens are more likely to suffer from common features of drug and alcohol abuse, obsessive-compulsive and impulse-control disorders.

Moreover, Yale University researchers found that one in every 25 studied adolescents had an "irresistible urge" to be on the internet, and had failed to quit or cut down the on internet time.

In order to find students with problematic internet use, the scientists asked the participants about any "irresistible urge" to be online, any experience of "a growing tension or anxiety that can be relieved only by using the internet," or any failed attempt to quit or cut down their internet use.

Among the 3,560 studied pupils, 4 percent met the criteria for problematic internet use. Asian and Hispanic students were more likely to qualify for the criteria, although the majority of the students in the study were white.

While girls were more likely to answer yes to one of the questions, more boys spent more than 20 hours a week online -- about 17 percent of boys, compared to 13 percent of girls.

There were no meaningful difference in school performance between the problematic internet users and their peers.

"Problematic Internet use may be present in about 4 percent of high school students in the United States," researchers reported in The Journal of Clinical Psychology.

"It may be associated with depression, substance use, and aggressive behaviors. High school boys, though, may have heavier Internet use and may be less self-aware of the related problems," Timothy Liu and his team suggested.

Source: presstv.ir