A Study on the Relationship between Internet Addiction, Mental Health, and Quality of Life of College Students

During the past decade, online social networking has resulted in some profound changes in the way people interact and communicate. However, it is unclear whether some of these changes may cause psychiatric disorders and affect certain normal aspects of human behavior. Several studies in this area have suggested that the prolonged use of social networking sites (SNS), such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram may be related to signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health issues. Some authors have indicated that certain Social Networking activities might be connected with low self-esteem, especially in children and adolescents. Other studies have shown completely opposite results in terms of the positive impact of SNS on self-esteem. To this very day, the relationship between mental problems and internet usage remains controversial, and research on this subject is faced with numerous challenges. This research study focuses on finding the suggested connection between internet use and mental health issues such as changes in self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and quality of life among college students.