Internet use and psychological well-being: a meta-analysis.
This meta-analysis examines the relationship between various Internet uses and measures of psychological well-being, including depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Forty studies represent a total sample of 21,258 participants and yield a data of 43 independent correlations. The mean correlation was -0.0504 for the fixed-effects model and r = -0.0385 for the random-effects model, indicating a small detrimental effect of Internet use on psychological well-being. According to the random-effects model, the effect of all moderators, including type of Internet use, indicator of well-being, quality of Internet use measure, and participant age and gender were insignificant. Since these moderators failed to explain the variation in the relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being, future investigations should consider the possible sources of these differences.
Huang
Chiungjung
C
Graduate Institute of Education, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan. cjhuang@cc.ncue.edu.tw
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010551:Personality; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult