Review of internet addiction and its relation with depression and anxiety

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship between Internet addiction and depression and anxiety. The method falls under review-descriptive categories, as it reviews the literature on Internet addiction over the last 15 years (from 2007 to July 2021). A review of the relationship between Internet addiction and depression is a subject of interest for many researchers who have conducted large number of studies on it. Interestingly, most studies done in this area correspond to each other and note a positive and significant relationship between Internet addiction and depressions, between online gambling and depression, between intense tendency to shop online and depression, and addiction to online games and depression. Other research has also considered depression to be predictor of Internet addiction, suggesting a positive two-way relationship between these two variables. However, out of these 7 scenarios, there was just one study that observed a negative and significant relationship between problematic use of the Internet and depression. Its population under study was composed of the elderly. In respect of the realtionshiop between Internet addiction and anxiety, there are many studies, also.