Internet use linked to greater wellbeing, surveys suggest

Spending time online is often portrayed as something to be avoided, but research has suggested that internet use is associated with greater wellbeing in people around the world.

“Our analysis is the first to test whether or not internet access, mobile internet access and regular use of the internet relates to wellbeing on a global level,” said Prof Andrew Przybylski of the University of Oxford, who co-authored the work.

Published in the journal TechnolMind and Behaviour, the study describes how Przybylski and Dr Matti Vuorre from Tilburg University in the Netherlands analysed data collected through interviews involving about 1,000 people from each of 168 countries every year as part of the Gallup World Poll.

Participants were asked about their internet use as well as eight measures of wellbeing including life satisfaction, social life, purpose in life and feelings of community wellbeing.

The researchers analysed data from 2006 to 2021 encompassing about 2.4 million participants aged 15 and above. The researchers took into account factors such as income education, health problems and relationship status. The results reveal internet access and use generally predicted higher measures of wellbeing, with 84.9% of associations between internet connectivity and wellbeing rated as positive, 0.4% negative and 14.7% not statistically significant.

r, the study did not look at the length of time people spent using the internet or what they used it for, while some factors that could explain positive and negative associations may not have be considered.