The study is based on data from two million people in 168 countries. The time span spans two decades. The researchers have looked at how people themselves estimate their well-being, and then compared it with how much internet access there is in the country.
The results showed that one’s psychological well-being does not seem to be affected by access to the Internet. Neither positive nor negative correlations were seen.
– There has long been a concern that internet use would damage one’s mental well-being. But in this study we have not found evidence that there are such connections, says Matti Vuorre.
Social media was not studied
The conclusion may surprise many. There are a number of examples of studies that point to the opposite: That internet use has a negative effect on the well-being of young people in particular. Our attention spans have also decreased dramatically over the past 20 years, according to another study.
However, the study by the Oxford Internet Institute did not focus on how the Internet was used. Social media was thus not a factor that was weighed. But Matti Vuorre does not believe that the results would have been different if those platforms had been studied.
– In a previous study, we looked at Facebook use and used the same method with self-assessment of mood. We found no negative correlation there. So I wouldn’t think social media is a catalyst for bad mood, just like we didn’t find the internet to be, he says.
“Not surprised”
Vuorre says that he himself was not particularly surprised by the study’s results, but that he understands that it may surprise others.
– I think we have to be careful with dramatic claims before we know what is true. The technology we use in everyday life probably has both good and bad consequences, but if we keep hearing that, for example, smartphones are bad, we will eventually convince ourselves that it is true.