{"id":11469,"date":"2024-11-22T20:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T20:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=11469"},"modified":"2025-03-12T19:48:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T19:48:17","slug":"study-links-poor-mental-health-to-browsing-negative-content-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/study-links-poor-mental-health-to-browsing-negative-content-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Links Poor Mental Health to Browsing Negative Content Online"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A new UCL study discovers that negative web content impacts mental health, creating a cycle of negativity. A new browser plug-in aims to help break this cycle by guiding users toward more positive online experiences.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a revealing new study, researchers from University College London (UCL) have uncovered a concerning link between poor mental health and browsing negative content online. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41562-024-02065-6\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study highlights a bi-directional, causal relationship, suggesting that exposure to negatively valenced content not only mirrors a person&#8217;s mood but can actively worsen it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Our results show that browsing negatively valenced content not only mirrors a person\u2019s mood but can also actively worsen it. This creates a feedback loop that can perpetuate mental health challenges over time,&#8221; co-lead author Tali Sharot, a professor of cognitive neuroscience in UCL&#8217;s Department of Psychology &amp; Language Sciences, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucl.ac.uk\/news\/2024\/nov\/poor-mental-health-linked-browsing-negative-content-online\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study involved more than 1,000 participants who provided data on their mental health and web browsing history. Using advanced natural language processing techniques, the emotional tone of the webpages visited by the participants was analyzed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results indicated that individuals with poorer mental health tended to consume more negative online content, which subsequently exacerbated their mental health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To further establish causality, another phase of the study manipulated the type of content the participants were exposed to. Some participants viewed negative content while others viewed neutral content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those exposed to negative content reported worse moods and, when allowed to browse freely afterward, chose to consume more negative content, demonstrating the bi-directional nature of the relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The results contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the relationship between mental health and online behavior. Most research addressing this relationship has focused on the quantity of use, such as screen time or frequency of social media use, which has led to mixed conclusions. Here, instead, we focus on the type of content browsed and find that its emotional tone is causally and bidirectionally related to mental health and mood,&#8221; added co-lead author Christopher Kelly, a doctoral student in UCL&#8217;s Department of Psychology &amp; Language Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In light of these findings, the researchers tested an intervention aimed at altering web-browsing habits and improving mood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They developed a free browser plug-in \u2014 dubbed the Digital Diet extension \u2014 that adds content labels to Google search results, indicating whether the result is likely to improve, worsen or have no impact on mood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The participants shown these labels were more likely to choose positively-labeled and mood-improving sites, and subsequently reported better moods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are accustomed to seeing content labels on our groceries, providing nutritional information such as sugar, calories, protein and vitamins to help us make informed decisions about what we eat. A similar approach could be applied to the content we consume online, empowering people to make healthier choices online,\u201d Sharot concluded. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a revealing new study, researchers from University College London (UCL) have uncovered a concerning link between poor mental health and browsing negative content online. Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study highlights a bi-directional, causal relationship, suggesting that exposure to negatively valenced content not only mirrors a person&#8217;s mood but can actively [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mental-health"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In a revealing new study, researchers from University College London (UCL) have uncovered a concerning link between poor mental health and browsing negative content online. Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study highlights a bi-directional, causal relationship, suggesting that exposure to negatively valenced content not only mirrors a person&#8217;s mood but can actively&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11469"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11636,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11469\/revisions\/11636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}