World Mental Health Day is celebrated every 10th of October as an opportunity for all parties working on mental health fields to exchange their views about their work especially on what needs to be done and improve in order to make mental health care accessible for everyone worldwide (World Health Organization 2019). Mental health pertains to the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of an individual. This is where a person recognizes his own capabilities such as handling normal stresses of life, making good decisions and relating to other people. Last year’s World Mental Health Day has a theme – “Young People and Mental Health in A Changing World” which focused more on adolescents for the early years of adulthood is a critical time for change such as attending a university, starting a relationship, leaving home or getting a job (World Health Organization 2019). 

According to the World Health Organization (2019), half of all mental illnesses start at the age of fourteen, however, most cases were not detected and treated. In 2015, 322 million people or approximately 4.4% of the world’s population were suffering from depression that might lead to suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds  (World Health Organization 2017).  World Health Organization added that eighty-six million people from South-east Asia were suffering from depression (Philippine News Agency 2017). Based from this statistics, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Risa Hontiveros stated that the Philippines has the highest number of depressed people in Southeast Asia with schizophrenia as the leading mental health illness among Filipinos (The Summit Express 2016).

In relation to this, last January 17, 2019, a day after the apparent suicide of Razorback drummer Brian Velasco, the Department of Health (DOH) issued a statement declaring that 3.3 million Filipinos suffer from depressive disorders, with suicide rates in 2.5 males and 1.7 females per 100,000 individuals (Department of Health 2019). DOH is encouraging the public to talk about depression and finally, end the stigma surrounding mental health and prevent more suicide incidents.

Depression is a common and serious mental illness that negatively affects how an individual feel, think and act. It may result to low self-esteem, loss of interest in life activities, changes in appetite, feeling of hopelessness, trouble sleeping and worst of all, thoughts of suicide (Parekh 2017). Depression is difficult to notice during adolescence since it can be falsely believed to be a normal youths’ transitional problem and not a mental illness. Depression during teenage years is typically related with numerous stresses in life, such as conflicts in the family, academic difficulties, economic problems, negative relationship with peers and being rejected by friends.

Furthermore, adolescents tend to have poorer self-discipline, worse self-regulation, and lesser understanding as compared to adults. Thus, they were considered the most vulnerable group to the temptations of the internet (Bhardwaj 2018). Internet is a global computer network, incorporated into many technologies that offers diverse information, communication services and several forms of entertainment, and probably, the latter is what makes it so addicting and appealing to all.  Yet, the first statement written on “The Juggler’s Brain” by Nicholas Carr stated, “The hours that we spend exploring the internet are changing our brains – and not necessarily for the better”.

In the Philippines, the average usage of social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter is 4 hours and 17 minutes per day based on active monthly user data from social media companies as of January 2017. With this, the Philippines has taken the global lead in time spent on social media followed by Brazil (3 hours and 43 minutes) and Argentina (3 hours and 32 minutes) according to the closely followed internet trends report released by social media management platform Hootsuite and United Kingdom-based consultancy We Are Social Ltd. According to the report, last year, the Philippines’ internet and social media users grew by over 25 %, up to 13 million and 12 million, respectively. The Philippines, so far, has a social media penetration rate of 58 percent, higher than the average of 47 percent in Southeast Asia (Camus 2017).

Excessive use of internet may result to Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), a newly developing mental health and social problem among adolescents that causes neurological, psychological, and social complications (Ghasem, Mohammadi and Solati 2018). Internet addiction is a behavioral addiction in which an individual becomes heavily reliant on the internet or other online devices, as a dysfunctional method on how to adjust with life’s pressures (Hartney 2018). Symptoms of Internet Addition Disorder may include, excessive use of internet in order to achieve satisfaction; jeopardized or risked loss of important relationships, job, educational or career opportunities because of internet use; withdrawal symptoms that may recognize as boredom, joylessness, grumpiness, uneasiness, and irritability when attempting to stop the use of the internet; dishonesty to family members, friends, or other people to conceal the extent of engrossment with the internet; and, use of the internet as a mean to escape from problems or to relieve negative moods such as feeling of hopelessness, anxiety and depression (Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery n.d.).

Some studies showed that internet addiction can damage young people’s physical and mental health in several ways, resulting to backache, blurred vision, headache, sleep disturbance, decreased concentration, decline in academic performance and depression (Xiao 2018). However, other studies showed that people suffering from depression use the internet to psychologically escape stressful situations in the real world. Therefore, is depression a cause or a result of internet addiction?

In my opinion, I do believe that depression is a cause of Internet addiction rather than a result. Even though some studies have found that young people with internet addiction are more likely to develop depression because of lack of social skills, I still view depression as a cause of internet addiction because similar to how illegal drugs affect our minds, internet offers the euphoria feeling and addicts become reliant on the cyberspace in order to search for comfort. Those individuals use the internet to search for comfort that resulted to some studies which showed that people who are suffering from depression are more likely to develop internet addiction (Bhardwaj 2018).

According to the research conducted in Kashmir University in India, there is a similar occurrence of depression among individuals addicted to the internet and of internet addiction among depressive patients. The study defined depression as a manifestation of profound sorrow, insomnia, low motivation, low self-confidence, fear of rejection and the need for approval from others. All of these characteristics are usually observed in depressed people, which may result to frequent use of the internet, and the interactive functions of the internet may lead to internet addiction. The study showed that internet addiction was related with the increase of people suffering from depression because over usage of the internet may result to the disruption of the normal lives of an individual and the people around him. Since, extreme usage of the internet can displace valuable time that person could spend with his family and friends, which results to smaller social circles and higher levels of stress and isolation (Bhat and Kawa 2015).

Another study conducted in Birjand, Iran investigated the relationship of self-esteem and depression with internet addiction in university students. The results of the present study revealed that self-esteem was significantly and negatively correlated with Internet addiction among students. It showed that self-esteem was found to be a significant predictor of internet addiction. Based on the results of the study, participants’ usage of internet is highly associated with its perception as a coping style and a way of compensating some deficiencies, such as low self-esteem. It makes users feel better, as it allows them to assume a different personality and social identity. In other words, these users derive great satisfaction from internet usage. When individuals have low self-esteem, they may perceive the internet as a way of making up for these shortcomings; increased internet use may, however, turn into a dependent relationship. As expected, depression positively predicted internet addiction. Recent studies on Internet addiction showed that internet addiction was positively related to a decrease in social interactions, depression, loneliness and lower self-esteem. Thus, it can be said that these findings are consistent with those of other studies that have found a positive relationship between depression and internet addiction. In addition, supportive data can be found in the studies of depressed individuals, who are more likely to engage in internet usage. Therefore, it appears that if individuals can reduce their internet addiction, they may reduce their depression level too (Alizadeh 2014).

Whenever internet addicts feel overwhelmed, stressed, depressed, lonely or anxious, they use the internet to seek solace and escape reality. Certain people are predisposed to having a computer or internet addiction, such as those who suffer from anxiety and depression. Their lack of emotional support means they turn to the internet to fill this need. There are also those who have a history of other types of addiction, such as addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex and gambling. Also, being stressed and unhappy can contribute greatly to the development of computer or internet addiction. People who are overly shy and socially awkward are also at a higher risk of developing a computer or internet addiction (Recovery Brands, LLC 2019). 

Depression may lead to internet addiction if not treated. One of the solutions to this problem is that to prevent someone having depression in the first place because as it always says, prevention is better than cure. There is no certain way to prevent depression but there are still ways on how to help someone to avoid having a depression. One of these is by simply listening to them non-judgmentally. It may seem simple, but the ability to listen and have a meaningful conversation requires skill and patience. Listening is critical in helping an individual feel respected, accepted and understood. Also, encourage self-help and other support strategies to that person. Individuals with symptoms of depression can contribute to their own recovery and wellness by reaching out for support from family, friends, faith communities and others who have experienced depression too. They can also use self-help strategies that include exercise, relaxation training and a variety of self-help books. These various ways may not guarantee a complete recovery from depression but with continuous efforts from the individual itself and its family and friends, someday, depression will be totally cured, and internet addiction will be no more.

References:

Alizadeh, K.Haji. 2014. “Relationship of Internet addiction with self-esteem and depression in university students.” Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene 86-89.

Bhardwaj, Vinod Kumar. 2018. “Level of depression in relation to internet addiction in adolescents of Udhampur: Comparative study.” Indian Journal of Health and Well-being 220-226.

Bhat, Suhail Ahmad, and Muzafar Hussain Kawa. 2015. “A Study of Internet Addiction and Depression among University Students.” International Journal of Behavioral Research & Psychology (IJBRP) 105-108.

Camus, Miguel R. 2017. PH world’s No. 1 in terms of time spent on social media. January 24. Accessed March 4, 2019. https://technology.inquirer.net/58090/ph-worlds-no-1-terms-time-spent-social-media utm_expid=.XqNwTug2W6nwDVUSgFJXed.1.

Department of Health. 2019. January 16. Accessed March 3, 2019. https://twitter.com/officialdohgov/status/1085765988606304257.

Ghasem, Mohammad, Darioush Mohammadi, and Kamal Solati. 2018. “The Relationship of Internet Addiction with Quality of Life and Alexithymia in Students in Iran.” Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research 6-9.

Hartney, Elizabeth. 2018. An Overview of Internet Addiction. February 5. Accessed March 6, 2019. https://www.verywellmind.com/internet-addiction-4157289.

Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery. n.d. What is Internet addiction? Accessed March 6, 2019. http://www.addictionrecov.org/Addictions/index.aspx?AID=43.

Parekh, Ranna. 2017. What Is Depression? January. Accessed February 11, 2019. https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression.

Philippine News Agency. 2017. 86M people in Southeast Asia affected by depression: WHO. April 6. Accessed March 3, 2019. https://lifestyle.mb.com.ph/2017/04/06/86m-people-in-southeast-asia-affected-by-depression-who/.

Recovery Brands, LLC. 2019. Computer/Internet Addiction Symptoms, Causes and Effects. Accessed March 27, 2019. https://www.psychguides.com/guides/computerinternet-addiction-symptoms-causes-and-effects/.

The Summit Express. 2016. PH has highest number of depressed people in SEA – Hontiveros. October 6. Accessed March 3, 2019. https://www.thesummitexpress.com/2016/10/philippines-has-highest-number-of-depressed-people-sea.html.

World Health Organization. 2017. Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders: Global Health Estimates. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Document Production Services.

World Health Organization. 2019. World Mental Health Day – 10 October. Accessed February 10, 2019. https://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/en/.

World Health Organization. 2019. World Mental Health Day 2018. Accessed February 10, 2019. https://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/2018/en/.

Xiao, Gui. 2018. “Psychological Mechanism of Adolescent Internet Addiction and Brain Functional Imaging .” NeuroQuantology 915-920.