BPS reacts to new study that says internet use can make over-50s happier

Responding to the Nature Human Behaviour study which revealed adults over 50 who frequently used the internet generally reported better physical health compared to those who did not, Dr Dawn Branley-Bell, BPS Cyberpsychology Section Chair, said: 
 
"This is a good quality study with a robust approach and a very strong sample size of over 87.5k adults (age 50+ years) from 23 different countries. The study collected data covering a substantial period, with a median follow up of 6 years, allowing the researchers to investigate longer term trends.   

"As with any study, there are some limitations. Firstly, some data was only available for specific countries. For instance, whilst baseline internet use was available across all 23 countries, frequency of internet use was only available for three countries – the US, UK and China. This means that some of the analyses may not be generalisable.  

"Secondly, the data collected was based mainly on self-report, including internet usage. We know that self-report measures can be prone to inaccuracies due to relying on retrospective recall. This is particularly problematic when asking participants to recall their usage over the last 12 months, as in this study. To improve this, it would be good to see more objective measures of screen time.  

"Thirdly, the researchers refer to the broad term of internet use and do not appear to break this down further, but research has shown that context, e.g type of use, can also influence effect. This can include the type of platform used (e.g. websites, social media, forums), the type of content subjects that users are engaging with, their motivations and purpose for use.  

"The researchers state that their data indicates a bi-directional relationship (as users with fewer depressive symptoms, higher life satisfaction and better reported health were more likely to use the internet) – this suggests that wellbeing impacts internet use and vice versa. However, there are still unknowns around the nature of this relationship, for instance does internet use have an impact through directly increasing mental health, and/or does it act as a protective factor against risks to mental health (i.e. not necessarily improving mental health but preventing decline). 

"This paper is an important contribution to the continued debate over the impact of internet use on wellbeing. The researchers go beyond existing studies by demonstrating that the association of Internet use with mental health in older people across countries and their robust approach is welcomed in an area of research where methodological weaknesses are common (see https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000426).  

"It remains hotly contested whether the internet has a positive or negative impact on wellbeing. There is also a significant degree of moral panic around the internet, and this is nothing new, historically similar reactions have occurred with other technologies such as TV and video games. However, at the moment there is a lack of robust research to support widespread claims around harmful effects of internet use (as also found in two of my own co-authored papers around screen time and mental health, https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000426 & https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000589). 
 
"This study provides robust evidence for the positive effects of internet use on mental health, whilst still cautioning against oversimplification. As with many things, the relationship between internet use and wellbeing is complex and multifaceted but it is promising to see more evidence of the benefits of usage."

Dr Dawn Branley-Bell is also an Associate Professor of Cyberpsychology at Northumbria University