Vaughan Bell wrote “Online information, extreme communities and internet therapy: Is the internet good for our mental health?” with the aim to provide one of the first reviews about the internet’s effect on mental health and to what extent. It specifically talks about mental health information available on the internet, pathological internet use, and extreme communities. The article was published in the Journal of Mental Health in August of 2007.
The article starts with Vaughan making the point that there is no “psychology of the internet” because the internet isn’t a specific activity or set of software, but more so about the attributes of the user and how they interact with certain programs. This makes it so the internet itself can’t be …show more content…
The two main forms of this are internet addiction, and the effects of too much time spent online (mainly being depression and isolation). Many people are doubtful of internet addiction because, like what was mentioned in the beginning of this paper, the internet isn’t a specific thing so there’s some confusion about what people are actually addicted to. Most addictions specify the activity but not the medium, but with internet addiction it’s the opposite. Even though many people are skeptical of an actual addiction, excessive internet use is still feasible. Those who experience pathological internet use report that gaming, chat, and erotica are the most popular activities. Also, people that spend a lot of time on the internet report that they feel lonely and have lower self-esteem, increased depression and suicidal thoughts. However it’s difficult to prove that this is directly related to internet use and not that they were already anxious, lonely, or depressed and used the internet as a way to try and alleviate those feelings. There have also been some studies that show that the internet is key in positive effects on the communication and social involvement, and wellbeing. These findings may be conflicting due to the fact that the internet offers everything that you need to amplify personality traits that you already possess. Extroverts can meet new people and introverts can avoid …show more content…
Since not much information is censored in the internet views that aren’t considered appropriate in mainstream media can easily be expressed, and many groups like pro-anorexia, suicide pacts, mutilation groups, and so on have formed. These groups worry a lot of people because they think that the problematic things are being reinforced and they’re not getting the treatment that they need. However some studies have shown that these groups aren’t always what people think, with the pro-anorexia group specifically the members talk about a here and now lifestyle that focuses on positive emotions, and a lower level of self-preoccupation. People who encounter groups like this usually want to censor them however that’s near impossible on the internet, also a more effective way to combat this is to provide high-quality mental health information easily accessible to
The article starts with Vaughan making the point that there is no “psychology of the internet” because the internet isn’t a specific activity or set of software, but more so about the attributes of the user and how they interact with certain programs. This makes it so the internet itself can’t be …show more content…
The two main forms of this are internet addiction, and the effects of too much time spent online (mainly being depression and isolation). Many people are doubtful of internet addiction because, like what was mentioned in the beginning of this paper, the internet isn’t a specific thing so there’s some confusion about what people are actually addicted to. Most addictions specify the activity but not the medium, but with internet addiction it’s the opposite. Even though many people are skeptical of an actual addiction, excessive internet use is still feasible. Those who experience pathological internet use report that gaming, chat, and erotica are the most popular activities. Also, people that spend a lot of time on the internet report that they feel lonely and have lower self-esteem, increased depression and suicidal thoughts. However it’s difficult to prove that this is directly related to internet use and not that they were already anxious, lonely, or depressed and used the internet as a way to try and alleviate those feelings. There have also been some studies that show that the internet is key in positive effects on the communication and social involvement, and wellbeing. These findings may be conflicting due to the fact that the internet offers everything that you need to amplify personality traits that you already possess. Extroverts can meet new people and introverts can avoid …show more content…
Since not much information is censored in the internet views that aren’t considered appropriate in mainstream media can easily be expressed, and many groups like pro-anorexia, suicide pacts, mutilation groups, and so on have formed. These groups worry a lot of people because they think that the problematic things are being reinforced and they’re not getting the treatment that they need. However some studies have shown that these groups aren’t always what people think, with the pro-anorexia group specifically the members talk about a here and now lifestyle that focuses on positive emotions, and a lower level of self-preoccupation. People who encounter groups like this usually want to censor them however that’s near impossible on the internet, also a more effective way to combat this is to provide high-quality mental health information easily accessible to