A study involving two million people has found no clear evidence that internet use harms people’s well-being, casting doubt on the popular belief that the spread of internet and social media use has had a negative effect on our collective mental health. Researchers used data on the psychological well-being of two million people between 2005 and 2022 in 168 countries in relation to internet and mobile broadband use, but found little evidence that mobile internet use was associated with negative changes.
The report, published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, included the largest data on well-being and internet adoption ever considered. Andrew Przybylski, Professor of Human Behavior and Technology at the Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, one of the authors of the report, stated that they “searched hard for ‘irrefutable proof’ that linked technology and well-being, and we did not find it.”
The study also found no specific demographic patterns among internet users, although it did note that for the average country, life satisfaction had increased more for women during the period studied.
An earlier report by the same authors, published by the Royal Society in August, also found no evidence linking global Facebook use to negative well-being. The researchers insist that technology companies must provide more data to further investigate the issue, as most urgently needed data is collected and stored behind closed doors by tech companies and online platforms and is not accessible for independent research.