Internet addiction is now a bigger problem in the UK than gambling and one that HR professionals should monitor it’s use due to its link with depression.
According to the first large scale study of its kind undertaken by psychologists at the University of Leeds among 1,319 people aged 16-51, 1.2% of the sample group were classed as internet addicts. This compares with the 0.6% of the population that has a gambling problem.
Internet addicts were found to have a higher incidence of moderate to severe depression than non-addicts and found it hard to control how much time they spent online to the extent that it interfered with their day-to-day activities.
Dr Catriona Morrison, lead author of the research entitled ‘The relationship between excessive internet use and depression: a questionnaire-based study of 1,319 young people and adults’, said: “Our research indicates 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?”
But she advised that addicts developed a compulsive habit of replacing real-life social interaction with the use of online chat rooms and social networking rooms. They also tended to spend a disproportionate amount of time browsing sexually gratifying web sites, online gaming sites and online communities.
The problem was most rife among younger rather than middle-aged users, with the average age of the addicted group being 21.
