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by
Anne Federwisch,
OTR If the Internet had a soundtrack, it just might be the blues. Connecting to the Internet could disconnect you from life, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University families in Pittsburgh caution. The scientists detected an increase in self-reported feelings of depression and loneliness as electronically-recorded Internet usage increased in their HomeNet study of 169 people in 73 families in Pittsburgh. They hypothesize that as people increase their time in cyberspace, they decrease the time spent in more social activities. Another possibility, they write, is that by using the Internet, people substitute poorer quality on-line relationships for stronger, face-to-face social interaction. Ironically, the study sparked fiery debates on-line about the Internet's worth, as people turned to their purportedly weak cyber-friendships to hash out the investigation's validity. Limited sample size, inadequate measures of depression, and undifferentiated Internet usage were just a few of the flaws cited. Surprise! But the researchers claim they were as surprised by the results as the disbelieving Web surfers slamming them on the net. "We were surprised to find that what is a social technology has such anti-social consequences," said lead author Robert Kraut, a professor of social psychology and human computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon in a HomeNet press release. The article appears in the September issue of The American Psychologist. Undoubtedly, the conclusions were also a surprise to the gaggle of high-tech and telecommunications giants (including Apple Computer Inc., Intel Corp., Hewlett Packard Corporation, and Netscape Communications) which supported the study through grants. Who would have thought that what’s touted as THE connection for the 21st century, THE way to stay in touch, could have a dark side? Not a lot of nurses who cruise the Internet in pursuit of information, professional development, and personal communication. Though willing to acknowledge the warning, they’re not ready to trade their Internet connection for a bottle of Prozac. Differing opinions One nurse, who controls her familial depression with St. John’s wort, doesn’t think there’s a link between her depression and her Internet use. "On my occasional gloomy days, I am unable to trace my Internet use as any causative or contributing factor," she said. "As a matter of fact, I feel less isolated by the instant ‘transportation’ to the library, newsroom, or post office where I can write or receive personal, professional, or civic-related letters." Katharina Loock, RN, BSN, an education coordinator for Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas, also disputes the study’s finding. She thinks that her time on the Internet more likely takes away from her sleep time, rather than her social time. "I set priorities, and my family, ‘real’ friends and colleagues have priority over the Internet," she said. Expanding Horizons The Internet has allowed Patricia Carroll, RN, CEN, RRT, MS, owner of Education Medical Consultants in Meriden, Connecticut, to expand her home-based business internationally and to mentor a nurse in Singapore. "I couldn’t disagree more with the finding of this study," she said, "but then, I don’t use the Internet as a substitute for personal interactions in person, either." Neither does Louise Baldwin, MBA, RN, CNA, director of patient care services at Harris Continued Care Hospital in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. She uses the Information Superhighway for work-related research, banking, and to stay in touch with family. "We rarely wrote letters, but now we ‘talk’ a lot," Baldwin said. "I do not find all this leads to loneliness." More Research Needed The study raises more questions than it answers, according to Barbara Mathews Blanton, MSN, RN, a clinical instructor of mental health and psychiatric nursing at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. "I think it is a bit of a stretch to blame the variations solely on shallow relationship building," she said. "If there is indeed increased depression in users of the net, I would look to biochemical brain changes related to the act of actually focusing on the net to the exclusion of other environmental cues being a possible major etiology." Let the Surfer Beware Despite the apparently dismal study results, the authors do not want to brand the Internet as either socially good or bad. They just want to warn that it can be harmful. Kraut allows his teenage children to go on-line, but in moderation. He won’t allow a computer in their bedrooms for fear that it would disconnect them too much from family interaction. Loock, too, can see a possible downside to the Internet, but doesn’t see cyberspace as a leading health problem. "Despite the possible biases I see in this study, the Internet certainly has a fascination and offers an escape from the real world," she said. "I still see the TV as the as the larger risk, because it allows the viewer to be totally passive. The Net demands active interaction." How you use the net is the key, according to Wendie Howland, RN, MN, CRRN, CCM, a nurse case manager in the insurance industry in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. If you use the Internet as a tool to enhance your endeavors off-line, it poses no risk. If you use the Internet as your real life, you could be in trouble. "I suppose it comes down to the trite: You get out of life what you put into it. If all you put into it is at the keyboard, then you might not get enough back to justify the effort," she said. "THAT would be depressing." |
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