Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Internet gets a bad rap, when it comes to metal health. There are a number of studies that suggest regular access to the Internet is linked to addiction, anxiety and stress. British researchers from the U.K.’s Charted Institute of IT have found a link between well-being and Internet access, a report on May 12.
The benefit of IT is maximally exploited by, those with lower incomes or fewer qualification, people living in developing world and, most surprisingly, women. The social scientist Michael Willmott said, “Put simply, people with IT access are more satisfied with life even when taking account of income”. “Our analysis suggests that IT has an enabling and empowering role in people’s lives, by increasing their sense of freedom and control, which has a positive impact on well-being or happiness.”
A considerable amount of studies have been done on how Web access directly affects happiness. Chair in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institutions in Washington, D.C., and author of Happiness Around the World, Carol Graham says, “If you introduce a technology [in the developing world], whether it is Internet or the cell phone, that allows people to reduce their very high [constraints] of getting through daily life, it has a tremendous well-being effect.” Paul Flatters, a partner at the Trajectory Partnership, told reporters, “Whether young or old, we’re all social beings; we all have a need for the things IT access facilities.”
Researchers were not expecting to discover that women gain so much from technology. Researcher says, “IT gives them communication with the outside world, access to network and so on. Friendship is very important to well-being as well, and one can imagine e-mail and IT being a good way to maintain those, particularly in contexts where telephones and transport are far from ideal or reliable.”
