Internet use linked to higher wellbeing, global study suggests

Internet access and use is consistently associated with positive wellbeing, a new study of data from 168 countries by the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) suggests.

In many parts of the world, including the EU and UK, concerns about online harms have prompted new laws.

The OII says some of its findings are “consistent” with reported links between social media use and depressive symptoms among young women.

But it concludes the overall benefits of being online show regulators contemplating tougher laws should rely on data and not be “guided by anecdote.”

“I anticipate that this work will be in some ways seen in contrast to the kind of the current social conversation surrounding tech,” said professor Andrew Przybylski, of Oxford University, who led the research.

“If we’re going to make the online world safe for young people, we can’t just go in guns blazing with strong beliefs and a one size fits all solution – we really need to make sure that we’re sensitive to having our minds changed by data,” he said.

The study did not look specifically at social media – which is what much of the most heated debate around online safety is focussed on – but took a broader approach to assessing access to the internet.

Researchers analysed data gathered between 2006 and 2021 from two million individuals aged 15 to 99 worldwide, including from countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa

They found that people who had internet access or actively used the internet reported greater levels of life satisfaction and social wellbeing.

Statistician professor Kevin McConway said it was very “broad brush” research, but useful nonetheless.

“It’s a starting point, and if nothing else it casts very serious doubt on the view, held by some people, that the Internet is bad for us all,” he wrote.