People who are glued to their cell phones might have a higher risk of suffering from depression and anxiety, a study out of the University of Illinois found.
For this study, psychology professor Alejandro Lleras and undergraduate honors student Tayana Panova conducted a survey to assess how people's relationships with their mobile devices and the Internet affect the status of their mental health. The survey was distributed to more than 300 university students.
Some of the study's questions included: "Do you think that your academic or work performance has been negatively affected by your cell phone use?" and "Do you think that life without the Internet is boring, empty and sad?"
The researchers found that participants who stated that they were attached to their cell phones and the Internet were more likely to score higher on the depression and anxiety scales. The researchers, however, did not find that using cell phones and the Internet to curb boredom negatively impacted mental health.
"We shouldn't be scared of people connecting online or talking on their phones," Lleras said. "The interaction with the device is not going to make you depressed if you are just using it when you are bored. This should go toward soothing some of that public anxiety over new technology."
The findings suggested that the reasons behind addictive cell phone and Internet use could be the contributing factors to depression and anxiety.
In a follow-up study, the team set out to examine how people reacted to stress based on whether or not they had access to their cell phones even though they were not allowed to use them. The researchers found that participants who were allowed to carry their phones during the experimental stressful situation were less affected by the stress than those who were not allowed to bring their phones with them.
"Having access to a phone seemed to allow that group to resist or to be less sensitive to the stress manipulation," Lleras said.
Lleras cautioned that the benefits of having a phone were very small and short-lived, and that more research should be conducted to better understand how technology affects mental health.
The study's findings were published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
