Internet Use and Well‐Being in Adolescence

TLDR

Internet use has been linked to lower adolescent well‑being, yet the social dimensions of online activity remain underexplored. The study collected dispositional well‑being data from 130 seventh‑grade students in California and recorded their instant‑message usage and daily well‑being over three evenings. Time spent online did not correlate with dispositional or daily well‑being, but the intimacy of instant‑message contacts predicted increased daily social anxiety and loneliness.

Abstract

Previous research suggests that Internet use may be associated with decreases in well‐being among adolescents. However, there has been little investigation of the relationship between well‐being and social aspects of Internet use. In the present study, 130 7th graders from a middle‐class public school in California completed dispositional measures of well‐being, and on three subsequent evenings they responded to questions regarding their Internet use (including detailed logs of instant messages) and daily well‐being. Time spent on‐line was not associated with dispositional or daily well‐being. However, as suggested by intimacy theory, the closeness of instant message communication partners was associated with daily social anxiety and loneliness in school, above and beyond the contribution of dispositional measures.