A convincing study has shown that some people who use the internet a lot experienced significant physiological changes such as increased heart rate and blood pressure when they finished using the internet.
“We have known for some time that people who are over-dependent on digital devices report feelings of anxiety when they are stopped from using them, but now we can see that these psychological effects are accompanied by actual physiological changes,” said Professor Phil Reed from Swansea University in the UK, who also led the study.
The study, published in the international peer-reviewed journal, PLOS ONE, was the first controlled-experimental demonstration of physiological changes as a result of internet exposure.
According to the study, when internet use was stopped for those with digital-behaviour problems, there was an average 3-4% increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and in some cases double that figure.
Although this increase was not enough to be life-threatening, such changes could be associated with feelings of anxiety, and with alterations to the hormonal system that can reduce immune responses.
“If you give people an experience that taps into lower-order human motivations, and they have a psychological need that can be soothed by the device (e.g., anxiety, boredom, depression, loneliness), they’re susceptible to behavioral addictions,” said Adam Alter from NYU Stern School of Business, USA, and author of Irresistible.
Alter added that it was possible for anyone to develop addictive internet behaviour, depending on the circumstances.
“As soon as you feel you’re spending more time than you’d like, that it’s hard to curb your usage, that it’s infringing on other areas of your life, and that you think about the activity when you aren’t engaged in it directly, you know you have a problem,” explained Alter.
The study also suggested that these physiological changes and accompanying increases in anxiety indicated a withdrawal state seen for many “sedative” drugs, such as alcohol, cannabis, and heroin, and that this state may have been responsible for some people’s need to re-engage with their digital devices to reduce these unpleasant feelings.
Despite the findings, there were no such negative physiological changes for participants who reported no internet-usage problems.
Reed further explained that the growth of digital communication media was fuelling the rise of “internet” use, especially for women.
“There is now a large amount of evidence documenting the negative effects of overuse on people’s psychology, neurology, and now, in this study, on their physiology.
“Given this, we have to see a more responsible attitude to the marketing of these products by firms – like we have seen for alcohol and gambling,” noted Reed.
The study, conducted by scientists and clinicians from the UK and Italy, involved 144 participants, aged 18 to 33 years, who had their heart rate and blood pressure measured before and after a brief internet session.
– African News Agency (ANA)
