SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 1

Chapter-1
Introduction
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During the past decade, online social networking has caused profound changes in the

way people communicate and interact. It is unclear, however, whether some of these changes

may affect certain normal aspects of human behavior and cause psychiatric disorders. Internet

is undoubtedly leading to the new industrial revolution; with the entrance of thousands of

newcomers and about 200 million users from all over the world, today, it is forming a

communicative, social and economic revolution. It is actually at the peak of the digital

industrial revolution and every kind of new revolution consequently gives rise to new

problem. The unique characteristics of the Internet such as its 24- hour availability, simple

working, low cost, anonymity of its users and etc. have welcomed many people throughout

the world. In addition, these characteristics which, on the one side, are the capabilities of the

Internet, on the other side are considered as its disadvantages.

One of the problems that the Internet has led to is that of virtual addiction, or

addiction to the said great global network which has a very harmful behavioral-psychological

impact on the Internet users. Most people think that the addiction is merely related to using

chemical compositions such as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and heroin; but psychologists

believe that anything that stimulates human being and make them feel energetic can be

addictive; therefore, addiction is not limited to drugs. Whenever a habit becomes a

compulsion, like gambling, drugs, alcohol, or even playing computer games, chatting, surfing

the net all can be Behavioral addictions should not be ignored because of the lack of

"material”.

1.1 Social Networking Addiction

Social networking addiction is a phrase sometimes used to refer to someone spending

too much time using Facebook, Twitter and other forms of social media - so much so that it
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Interferes with other aspects of daily life. There’s no official medical recognition of social

networking addiction as a disease or disorder. Still, the cluster of behaviors associated with

heavy or excessive use of social media has become the subject of much discussion and

research.Psychologists are referring to this as a social networking compulsion or addiction.

Addiction usually refers to compulsive behavior that leads to negative effects. In most

addictions, people feel compelled to do certain activities so often that they become a harmful

habit, which then interferes with other important activities such as work or school. In that

context, a social networking addict could be considered someone with a compulsion to use

social media to excess--constantly checking Facebook status updates or "stalking" people's

profiles on Facebook, for example, for hours on end.But it's hard to tell when fondness for an

activity becomes a dependency and crosses the line into a damaging habit or addiction.

Does spending three hours a day on Twitter reading random tweets from strangers

mean you're addicted to twitter? How about five hours? You could argue you were just

reading headline news or needed to stay current in your field for work, right?Researchers at

Chicago University concluded that social media addiction can be stronger than addiction to

cigarettes and booze following an experiment in which they recorded the cravings of several

hundred people for several weeks. Media cravings ranked ahead of cravings for cigarettes and

alcohol. Social networking services have become a highly popular online activity in recent

years with 75% of young adults online, aged 18 to 24, reporting that they have a profile

(Lenhart, 2009). Social network sites have become such anObsession with some that they

raise concerns about the potential harmful effects of their repeated use, known in the popular

press as “Facebook addiction” (Cohen, 2009).

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For many Internet users, social networking has perhaps indeed become a media habit,

defined….. (after LaRose, 2010;Verplanken &Wood, 2006) as a form of automaticity in

media consumption that develops as People repeat media consumption behavior in stable

circumstances. How might repeated social networking evolve from a “good” habit that

merely? Indulges a personal media preference into a “Bad” habit with potentially harmful life

consequences that might rightfully be termed compulsive, problematic, pathological, or

addictive? And, is social networking any more or less problematic than other popular Internet

activities?
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Signs of an addiction include

The habit or behavior causes some kind of pleasurable sensation.However, in reality

the habit is weakening the person in some way, because one begins to need more of the habit

to get the same effect.Symptoms of suffering or withdrawal occur when the habit is stopped.

As a result, stopping the habit is not so easy, and often unsuccessful. The behavior or habit

conflicts with everyday responsibilities, Such as family, work or social obligations.Often one

will begin to lie, steal or exhibit other negative behaviors, if needed, to maintain the habit or

behavior. This indicates that the habit or behavior now controls the person’s life, and not the

other way around.

Source: www.businessinsider.com

Figure 1: Percentage of the social networking usage among younger adults.

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Signs of a Social Media Addiction or Compulsion

As with alcohol or caffeine, some people are able to handle the social media

revolution that is sweeping the planet earth. However, more and more people are not able to

handle it. Here are some signs to look for that indicates a problem with social

media:Spending more than one hour daily at social media sites. Some would say one should

not spend more than half an hour daily. Some people leave the program open and switch back

and forth to it while working, for example. Others use a phone App to check it while eating

lunch with friends, for example. This is extremely rude, but one observes it a lot. Over-

sharing. In an age when many people are very concerned about their privacy, some people are

sharing very private information or photos with their Facebook friends or on other sites. A

possible reason for this is to gain approval or acknowledgment from peers.

This is sometimes called the need for social affirmation. Hearing from friends and

family that you are spending too much time on the social networking sites. Interference with

work, school performance or your offline social life. Some studies report that too much time

on the social media can reduce work performance and even lead to job loss. It can also cause

lower school grades. Some people also become more comfortable with the often superficial

banter on the social networking sites than they are with real face-to-face social relationships.

One can become over-reliant on Facebook to fulfill social needs, and one may start

sacrificing real-life socializing.Withdrawal symptoms if you try to cut down on the time you

spend on social media.Obsessive thoughts about “friends” or other aspects of the social

media. For example, some people spend much time deciding what to post, how to update

their page, or how to answer “friends” on Facebook. Often, they try to think of happy, clever
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 7

And fun ideas or statements, even if this is not the way they really feel. However, they do not

want friends to know how they really feel, as they might not continue as friends if they

knew.Another example is spending more than fifteen minutes thinking about what you ought

to type for your status update. Afterwards, do you eagerly anticipate how others will respond

to it? There are “friends” who often appear on our newsfeed with some status update, check-

in, posting of their photos and such. Their posts tend to be on very mundane matters, much

like how someone reports to another what he or she is doing at any given moment. They

report to you their daily routines (e.g. taking a piss), broadcast check-ins to uninteresting

places like the street they live in, upload self-portraits and such. Looking for new Facebook

friends in an almost competitive way. Research by psychologists from Edinburgh Napier

University found that Facebook users with more friends on their network tend to be more

stressed when using Facebook.

The more friends you have, the more you feel pressured to maintain appropriate

etiquette for different types of friends while remaining entertaining. In other words, the

competition in adding friends may result in a vicious cycle of increasing Facebook-related

tensions, resulting in worse addiction outcomes. If you are using your time on the social

media to avoid conflicts or problems that are occurring in your real life. You can know this

because when you are “down”, you turn to Facebook or another social media site to feel

better. Losing sleep to go on Facebook or other sites.It is bad enough if your social

networking interferes with your daily work and studies. However, it is really out of hand if

you stay up late at night to check Facebook, for example, or must wake up early to check it in

the morning. Staying up late is one characteristic of those who overuse social networking

sites, according to some studies.

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1.2 Loneliness

While loneliness is a universal human experience, it is a phenomenon that has

provedDifficult to define; its nature as a highly subjective experience is part of the difficulty

in defining it (Kileen, 1998). Although loneliness is principally a subjective experience

(Victor et al., 2002), the experience can be objectively ascertained and measured as a

research variable. There are numerous definitions of loneliness: most describe a subjective

experience and many infer that the phenomenon is relational and linked with the human

condition of perceived or actual lack of connectedness with other human beings. Loneliness

has been variously described as an emotion, an emotional response and a combination of

either emotional or social responses. Forbes (1996) similarly defines loneliness as ‘an

unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship, or feeling that one is alone and not

liking it’.

As a subjective experience, loneliness is a set of ‘unwelcome feelings or perceptions

associated with an unsatisfactory level of communication and closeness with others’ (Wenger

and Burholt, 2003). The phenomenon of loneliness Comprises a complex set of feelings that

encompass reactions to the absence of intimate and/or social needs (Ernst and Cacioppo,

1999). In this way, it can be construed as ‘the emotional response to the discrepancy between

desired and available relationships’ (Walton et al., 1991). Kileen (1998) similarly defines

loneliness in terms that imply its relational nature; it is ‘a discrepancy between a person’s

social and/or emotional needs/wants, and their social reality’. Loneliness has been described

as a process of ‘temporal change’; it is not a static event, its intensity can increase or decrease

over time and it can alter seasonally and according to the day of the week (Victor et al.,

2002).
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Rook (1984) defines loneliness as an enduring condition or emotional state that arises when a

person feels estranged from others, is misunderstood or rejected by others, and/or Lacks

appropriate social partners for desired activity, particularly activities that provide a sense of

social integration and opportunities for emotional intimacy. While loneliness may be a

transient experience, for some it may be a chronic state (Ernst and Cacioppo, 1999). Forbes

(1996) cautions that loneliness in older people cannot be regarded as the simple and direct

result of social circumstances; rather it is ‘an individual response to an external situation to

which old people vary in their reactions’. Concepts related to loneliness include aloneness

(the voluntary or involuntary objectivestate of being by oneself), solitude (the voluntary

process of being on one’s own), estrangement (the objective experience of being detached

from society) and the related concept of alienation (the subjective experience of

disconnectedness from society or from oneself) (Kileen, 1998).

For some people, solitude may be a way of life that temperamentally suits them

(Forbes, 1996). The feeling of loneliness may be connected with a general negative

perception about oneself and one’s relations to other people(Åkerlind and Hörnquist, 1992).

As already observed, being alone may be a positive experience. In this connection, Forbes

(1996) points to the individual nature of loneliness and solitude, observing that a situation

leading to loneliness for one person can be a source of contented aloneness for someone else.

Therefore, some people may feel isolated and lonely even when they have many people

visiting them, while others who have less need of social contact may not feel lonely even if

they have no visitors. While loneliness is often confused with social isolation (Forbes, 1996),

social isolation is conceptually related to loneliness, in that it may be seen to reside on a point

on the same alienation-connectedness bipolar continuum on which loneliness exists (Kileen,

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 10

1998). Thusloneliness is subjective, while social isolation can be objectively measured; using

criteria such as the number of social contacts the person has (Forbes, 1996). Loneliness may

be a phenomenon that all people experience at some time in their livesand, as such, is a

temporary state that dissipates as people’s circumstances change (Lauder et al., 2004). For

some individuals, however, loneliness is a persistent feature of their lives (Ernst and

Cacioppo, 1999). The experience of loneliness is found across the spectrum of ages, from

children to the oldest old. While it may be a part of the phenomenon of lifestyle

dissatisfaction prevalent in industrialized countries (Lauder et al., 2004), loneliness is a

human experience that is evident across cultures and societies, from the developed

industrialized to the agrarian.

Nevertheless, culture may moderate the extent to which people experience the feeling of

being lonely (Rokach et al., 2002).Anderson (1998) points to the fundamental distinction

between the objective state ofbeing alone and the subjective experience of feeling lonely, and

proposes a four-fold typology for considering loneliness and aloneness. Loneliness may or

may not be experienced by the person who is alone and the person who experiences

loneliness mayor may not be alone(Anderson, 1998). Notwithstanding this distinction, the

experienceof loneliness is generally more prevalent among those living alone.The feeling of

loneliness or being detached from others is not just a human emotion; it is a complex

emotional response to the lack of companionship. Although, days pass by with tremendous

speed forcing each one of us to run with it at its pace. If we take a moment to stand and think

about our relations and friendships, how many of us enjoy true companionship?

It is said that one in every five persons is lonely and a majority of people don’t have anyone

to talk to or spend time with, and this rate is increasing rapidly. Loneliness has increased with
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Modernization, since people are engrossed in virtual social communities and networks and

don’t have the urge to attend social gathering or stay in touch with family and friends. But,

with time, loneliness and lack of companionship makes a person vulnerable which affects

physical and mental health to increases the chances of mental health disorders.Causes of

Loneliness:Research shows that loneliness is connected to genetics but there are several

external factors that lead to loneliness and social isolation in certain individuals in whom it

works as a major depressive disorder that can even lead to suicide.Abused or Rejected by

Others: Loneliness and depression are closely related. It is a sense of isolation that can

develop in an individual who has been repeatedly rejected or abused by family or friends.

Abuse can come from being made fun of, being abandoned by family or friends, being

tortured with abusive language.

Inability to Fit In: Certain physical disability or excessive introvert nature can promote an

individual to think that he does not fit into his group or is a misfit in the rest of the crowd.

Although, these individuals try to be like everyone else and mix with the crowd rather than

standing out, but their inability to break the ice and cross the barrier prevents them from

being part of the group.Heart Break:For people who are excessively emotional and sensitive,

a broken heart due to break up or divorce can have serious effects on mental health. The

feeling of intense loneliness after a break up and the feelings of missing a loved one might be

difficult for some people to handle.For most people these feelings are short-lived and they

cope with it effectively. But for some, the feeling can continue for years pushing them

towards loneliness which can also cause mental diseases and psychiatric disorders.

Death and Divorce:Divorce or death of a spouse pushes the other one into the darkness of

loneliness and depression. Although, online dating is extremely popular among divorcees, but
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In most cases these meetings are not serious and cannot make up for the emotional trauma

and depression an individual suffers due to the lack of his/her long-time companion. Sending

a private message, scrolling through the feeds aimlessly and liking someone else’s posts and

updates make people feel miserable about them.Social Media:With the advancement of social

media, people have become more engrossed in virtual communities and online friendships

and are becoming less interested in maintaining real life social ties with family members,

friends and neighbors.

But research shows that spending too much time on social networking sites can backfire and

actually make people feel lonelier.Aging:Depression is a common part of aging and reduced

physical strength, mobility and diseases are sure to affect the mental health of elderly people.

But with change and reform in the social structure of the modern society the value and

importance of elders have become more obscure. In traditional societies, the elders held a

vital position of preserving and propagating community customs and history. But with

modernization, the scenario has changed, pushing elder people into the zone of marginalized

and rejected individuals both in families and neighborhood’s, making them lonely and

miserable.

Impact of Loneliness on Physical and Mental Health

Loneliness is hardly seen as a serious disorder, but in reality, chronic loneliness and

feelings of alienation can be extremely detrimental to health. It can induce alcoholism, make

a person suicidal and increase the risk of mental health disorders.

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Loneliness can Affect the Brain like Physical Pain:Loneliness is one of the major causes of

mental diseases and the sense of isolation can have a similar effect on brain that is noted

when an individual experiences physical pain. The sense of belonging to a group or

Community is important not only for companionship, but also for survival. The brains of

lonely individuals register feelings of threat and pain signals that are similar to real physical

pain and danger. The level of the stress hormone cortisol shoots up abnormally high in the

morning and is never at normal levels all through the day.Increases the Risk of

Dementia:Chronic loneliness can mingle with normal brain functions and increase the risk of

neurodegenerative disorders like Dementia. It has been seen that those living alone or staying

in nursing homes and old age institutions have greater chances of developing dementia than

those staying with their families.

The feeling of loneliness raises the risk of Dementia by 64%. The opposite also holds true,

that initiation of Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease can also lead to social withdrawal and

loneliness – one of the mental diseases symptoms.Increased Risk of Heart Disease: The genes

of chronically lonely individuals experience overexpression that leads to long-term

inflammation and damage to the tissues and blood vessels of the heart increasing the risk of

heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Inflammation is an important function

of the body and short term inflammation is essential for fighting infections, but chronic

inflammation for a prolonged period increases the risk of cancer and therefore, anti-

inflammatory medicines can be beneficial for people who cannot come out of their shell of

loneliness. Reduce Life Expectancy:Although we ignore loneliness as just a temporary phase

or transitory feeling, it can be fatal enough to cause premature death. Studies show that
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People who live unaccompanied are more likely to have an early death caused by stroke,

heart attacks or other complications that those who live with their family or in a communal

Institution. In the case of older individuals, those who reported feeling isolated, rejected or

lonely had an increased chance of dying even though they were not living alone practically.

The link between loneliness and health disorders persists even when we rule out signs of

depression, living situation, etc.Cause Sleeping Disorders:There is a close relation between

loneliness and sleep and even minute difference in the level of loneliness has an effect on

sleep. It has been seen that lonely individuals experience more trouble with sleep. The

chronic depression and anxiety prevents them from falling asleep and also makes it difficult

to stay asleep leading to sleeping disorders and insomnia. Loneliness hinders restful sleep and

it is seen that lonely people experience broken sleep and are awakened several times during

the night.
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Getting involved in social activities and engaging in social interactions are the best answers

to the question of how to improve mental health by alleviating loneliness. Saying a friendly

“Hello” to neighbors ispowerful enough to bring about a big difference in life and might even

bring out of chronic loneliness.Understand that Loneliness is not a Fact; it is Just a Feeling:It

is important to realize what triggers the feelings of loneliness. Loneliness can be triggered by

a memory because the person is actually alone and isolated from the others. Loneliness is one

of the agonizing feelings that the brain associates with pain and danger and then it tries to

relate the feeling to a reason. Why am I lonely? Is it because nobody loves me? Is it because I

am a loser? Such theories confuse the person even further. Therefore, it is important to accept

the feeling instead of over-reacting to it.

Reach Out to others:It better to reach out to friends and family rather than withdrawing into

yourself. Cultivating a healthy friendship helps in alleviating sadness and loneliness.Form a

Plan to fight Mental and Emotional Habits of Loneliness:When dealing with emotional habits

of loneliness and sadness, healthy interactions with friends on a daily basis can make things

better. Therefore, plan a schedule in such as way so that you can spend quality time with

friends and family and initiate wholesome conversations.Focus the Concentration on the

Needs and Feeling of Others:Shifting focus to the feelings and needs of other people and

trying to help them in some way or the other can help in forgetting about lonely

thoughts.Find Like Minded People:Now days, it is not difficult to find people who share your

hobbies and interests. Get along with them to enjoy hikes, fishing trips and road trips

together.

Make it a Point to Show up at Meetings and Gatherings:Sticking to your commitment and

showing up at a gathering or meeting provides the opportunity of meeting and

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Communicating with new people and who knows you might strike up a friendship of a

lifetime.

1.3 Mental Health

Mental health is a level of psychologicalwell-being, or an absence of mental illness. It

is the "psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional

and behavioral adjustment". From the perspective of positive psychology or holism, mental

health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life, and create a balance between life

activities and efforts to achieve resilience. The World Health Organization defines mental

health as ‘a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can

cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a

contribution to his or her community. In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation

for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community.

The most common mental health problems as defined by the National Service Framework for

Mental Health are depression, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders. According to the U.S.

surgeon general (1999), mental health is the successful performance of mental function,

resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and providing the

ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.Mental health can be seen as an unstable

continuum, where an individual's mental health may have many different possible values.

Mental wellness is generally viewed as a positive attribute, even if the person does not have

any diagnosed mental health condition. This definition of mental health highlights emotional

well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life's

inevitable challenges.
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Some discussions are formulated in terms of contentment or happiness. Many therapeutic

systems and self-help books offer methods and philosophies espousing strategies and

techniques vaunted as effective for further improving the mental wellness. Positive

psychology is increasingly prominent in mental health.A holistic model of mental health

generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious

and sociological perspectives, as well as theoretical perspectives from personality, social,

clinical, health and developmentalpsychology. An example of a wellness model includes one

developed by Myers, Sweeney and Witmer. It includes five life tasks—essence or spirituality,

work and leisure, friendship, love and self-direction—and twelve sub tasks—sense of worth,

sense of control, realistic beliefs, emotional awareness and coping, problem solving and

creativity, sense of humor, nutrition, exercise, self-care, stress management, gender identity,

and cultural identity—which are identified as characteristics of healthy functioning and a

major component of wellness. The components provide a means of responding to the

circumstances of life in a manner that promotes healthy functioning.

A person living with a mental health problem may experience numerous effects as

they face a number of difficulties in day-to-day living. Depending on the mental health

problem and its debilitating nature, a person may experience difficulties with any or all of the

following:Coping with day-to-day activities:preparing meals, getting dressed, personal

hygiene, cleaning the house, looking after children and adhering to schedules.Coping

financially:People living with a mental health condition may find budgeting, planning, coping

with unforeseen financial needs and paying bill more difficult.Employment: Mental health

conditions may make it more difficult for a person to engage with workplace activities and

colleagues, meeting and managing deadlines and managing their own role at work.Self-
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Image:A mental health problem can lead to an inferiority complex, a negative body image,

and intense feelings of self-hate, anger or disgust and uselessness, which could mutate into

extreme depression, psycho-social disorders or eating disorders.Education:People who are

living with mental health problems may socially isolate themselves and develop anxiety

disorders and concentration problems.Relationships:Mental health largely contributes to the

functioning of human relationships. Mental health problems can effect even basic interactions

with family, friends and colleagues. Most people suffering from mental health problems find

it difficult to nurture relationships, have problems with commitment or intimacy and

frequently encounter sexual health issues.Sleep:An inability to handle stress or anxiety can

lead to insomnia.

Even if the person manages to fall asleep, the individual may wake up a dozen times during

the night with thoughts of what went wrong the day before or how bad tomorrow is going to

be. This may lead to sleeping disorders leaving the individual feeling exhausted and less

productive.Physical health: A person’s mental state can directly affect the body. For example,

stress can lead to high blood pressure or stomach ulcers. People with more serious mental

health problems are often not registered with a GP. They may be too unwell to realize their

physical state of health or too depressed to attempt to get help. This lack of attention can

worsen physical health problems further, which can then further impact on their mental health

problems. Individuals with more serious health problems are also not likely to be registered

with a dentist and are more likely to experience problems with oral health.

It’s widely accepted that individuals can be disturbed or troubled of mind. What is

controversial is how we should understand this.

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Determinants of mental health: Multiple social, psychological, and biological factors

determine the level of mental health of a person at any point of time. For example, persistent

socio-economic pressures are recognized risks to mental health for individuals and

communities. The clearest evidence is associated with indicators of poverty, including low

levels of education. Poor mental health is also associated with rapid social change, stressful

Work conditions, and gender discrimination, social exclusion, and unhealthy lifestyle, risks

of violence, physical ill-health and human rights violations. There are also specific

psychological and personality factors that make people vulnerable to mental disorders.

Lastly, there are some biological causes of mental disorders including genetic factors which

contribute to imbalances in chemicals in the brain.

Mental health promotion and protection: Mental health promotion involves actions to create

living conditions and environments that support mental health and allow people to adopt and

maintain healthy lifestyles. These include a range of actions to increase the chances of more

people experiencing better mental health. An environment that respects and protects basic

civil, political, socio-economic and cultural rights is fundamental to mental health promotion.

Without the security and freedom provided by these rights, it is very difficult to maintain a

high level of mental health. National mental health policies should not be solely concerned

with mental disorders, but should also recognize and address the broader issues which

promote mental health. These include mainstreaming mental health promotion into policies

and programmers in governmental and nongovernmental sectors.

In addition to the health sector, it is essential to involve the education, labor, justice,

transport, environment, housing, and welfare sectors as well.

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Promoting mental health depends largely on intersectorial strategies. Specific ways to

promote mental health include:Early childhood interventions (e.g. home visits for pregnant

women, pre-school psycho-social activities, combined nutritional and psycho-social help for

disadvantaged populations);support to children (e.g. skills building programs, child and youth

development programs);socio-economic empowerment of women (e.g. improving access to

education and microcredit schemes);social support for elderly populations (e.g. befriending

initiatives, community and day center’s for the aged);programs targeted at vulnerable groups,

including minorities, indigenous people, migrants and people affected by conflicts and

disasters (e.g. psycho-social interventions after disasters);mental health promotional activities

in schools (e.g. programs supporting ecological changes in schools and child-friendly

schools);mental health interventions at work (e.g. stress prevention programs);housing

policies (e.g. housing improvement); violence prevention programs (e.g. reducing availability

of alcohol and access to arms); community development programs (e.g. integrated rural

development);poverty Reduction and social protection for the poor; anti-discrimination laws

and campaigns;promotion of the rights, opportunities and care of individuals with mental

disorders.

1.4 Literature Review

Social network addiction as well as Internet addiction disorder is an interdisciplinary

phenomenon and medical and computer sciences as well as sociology, law, morality and

psychology have studied different aspects of this phenomenon.

In 1998, Kraut et al. published one of the first studies to indicate that Internet use in

general significantly affects social relationships and participation in community life. In this
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Research, the authors found that increased time spent online is related to a decline in

communication with family members, as well as the reduction of the Internet user's social

circle, which may further lead to increased feelings of depression and loneliness. This work

was later followed by several other publications where it was suggested that computer use

may have negative effects on social development. King Storm (1996), in a study, found that

people who have Internet addiction are alone and shy and are suffering from depression and

loneliness.

Kubey et al. (2001) stated intheir studies that use of Internet as an entertaining tool is

related to serious damages in individual function including educational problems, loneliness

and insomnia. Young and Rogers (1998) also found out that 5 to 10 percent of the world's

online population is addicts in online or social networking. Young in the other study about

Internet addiction Young concluded that, Internet addicts suffer from certain symptoms and

are faced with consequences which are exactly the same as the consequences of those

addicted to alcohol, gambling, shopping and other obsessive behaviors. According to his

opinion pathological use of the Internet is associated with mild to severe depression, he stated

that low self-esteem, low motivation, fear of rejection and approval seeking is associated with

depression and such kind of depression is associated with the level of using Internet.

Young maintains that the available researches in the field of Internet addiction confirmed that

Internet addiction or social network addiction is related with serious damages in personal,

social and career issues of people. Based on their findings, Moeedfar et al. (2007), concluded

that those who are addicted to the Internet feel less responsible toward their society and their

surroundings, are more socially alienated, have more educational job failures, have less social
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Support and feel less self-esteem. In addition, obtained results revealed that those addicted to

Internet have a low self-value.Nasiri et al. (2011), investigate the prevalence of Internet

addiction among students and its influential factors. The obtained results showed that 13.8%

of the students suffer from severe Internet addiction which was higher than the rate gained

previous rate (2.2%). They also believe that such severe internet addiction is due to poor

academic performance and social interaction.They also stated that changes in social

background may result in severe internet addiction. With the development of social networks,

the time children and adolescents spend in front of the computer screens have significantly

increased. This has led to the further reduction of intensity of interpersonal communication

both in the family and in the wider Social environment.

Although social networks enable an individual to interact with a large number of people,

these interactions are shallow and cannot adequately replace everyday face-to-face

communication.Since social networks are a relatively recent phenomenon, this potential

relationship between their use and feelings of loneliness and depression has not yet been

properly investigated. Most of the research on this issue has been published during the past

few years, and so far, the scientific community has not been able to interpret and discuss the

results fully.

1.5 Rationale

Internet is an important part in our daily life. According to the previous researches

and due to the wide use of the Internet in our society especially in the cortex of students and

with respect to the fact that the issue of Internet addiction in many advanced industrial

societies has been discussed; it seems that the increasing use of the Internet in Dhaka
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 23

Can affect mental and physical health of young people and in future, we see the problem of

social network addiction. Therefore, it is required to know the patterns of using internet or

social networking site and the like electronic Tools to increase our knowledge and be aware

of its impacts on our life. Thus, this study is conducted in order to investigate the impacts of

mental health and loneliness in Social networking addiction as well as internet addiction of

the Younger adults in Dhaka city.

1.6 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are as follows-

(a) To see or determine the relationships between social networking addiction,

loneliness and mental health.

(b) To see the level of internet addiction as well as social networking addiction of

younger adults in Dhaka city.

(c) To investigate whether loneliness and mental health can affect or promote an

individual to addict in social networking.

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 24

Chapter-2
Methods
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 25

2.1 Participants

A total of 200 younger adults respondent were selected for this study that uses social

networking site within Dhaka city and whose age level ranges from 18-30 years following

purposive sampling technique. They are all belongs to middle class family considering their

economic status.

2.2 Measures

The following measures were used for collecting data of the study:

1. Demographic and personal information questionnaire.

2. Bengali version of Internet addiction Test (IAT) questionnaire.

3. Bengali version of revised UCLA loneliness questionnaire.

4. The Bengali version of Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12).

Demographic and personal information questionnaire: Demographic and personal

information questionnaire was used to collect information about respondents age, gender, and

educational qualification.

Bengali version of Internet Addiction Test (IAT) questionnaire: Internet

Addiction Test (IAT) is the first validate and reliable measure of addictive use of the internet.

Developed by Young (1996), the IAT is a 20-item questionnaire that measure mild, moderate

and severe levels of internet addiction. It is a 5- point Likert type scale ranging from 1

(rarely) to 5 (occasionally). The original IAT was exhibited good psychometric properties in

various researchers. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) of the IAT was found to be 0.92

and also test retest reliability was satisfactory (Yang, Choe, Baity, Lee, & Cho). It also has
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 26

High face validity (Widyanto & McMurran, 2004). In the present study, Bangla version of

IAT was used which was adapted by Karim & Nigar in 2014. In their study, it was found that

IAT has good psychometric properties. The reliability of the Bangla version of IAT ranged

from .60 to .84 and the reliability of the full scale was .89. It also has good discriminant and

convergent validity (Karim & Nigar, 2014). Convergent validity of the Bangla version IAT

was examined by estimating inter-factor correlations and the factor-IAT total correlations.

The inter-factor correlations (Pearson’s ) were all significant, the coefficient ranging from .43

to .58. They proposed for the Bangla version 18-item IAT a cutoff scores system equivalent

to that of the English version 20-item IAT. Thus the Bangla version IAT comprises 18 items,

with a minimum obtainable score of 18 and a maximum score of 90. Score ranging from 18-

35 can be categorized as Minimal users, 36-62 can be categorized as Moderate users and 63-

90 can be categorized as Excessive users.

Bengali version of revised UCLA loneliness questionnaire: The UCLA (University

of California, Los angles) Loneliness scale was originally developed by Russell (1978) and

revised by Russell, Peplau and Cutrona (1980). Then revised UCLA translated into Bengali

and adapted within the socio economic and cultural context of Bangladesh (Haque, 2007).

The revised UCLA loneliness scale has high internal consistency, with a coefficient of .94,

significant correlation (r48 = .88, p .01) between the scores of English and Bengali version

indicated translation reliability of the scale. Concurrent validity for the revised scale was

indicated by demonstrating that lonely people report experiencing emotions theoretically

linked to loneliness and do not report experiencing emotions unrelated to loneliness (Russell

et al., 1980). Discriminant validity for the revised loneliness scale was indicated by evidence

that scores on the measures were not confounded by social desirability. The revised
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 27

Loneliness scale passed a very stringent discriminant validity test, with the demonstration

that relationships between loneliness and concurrent validity criteria were independent of the

other mood and personality variables on loneliness (Russell et al., 1980). The scale is a 20

item Likert type scale, each item having four response alternatives such as ‘never’, ‘rarely’,

‘sometimes’, and ‘often’. There are 10 positive items and 10 negative items. The positive

items are scored as never = 4, rarely = 3, sometimes = 2, often = 1 and the negative items are

scored in a reversed order. A person on the scale can yield a score between 20 to 80. A higher

score indicates high level of loneliness and lower score indicates lower level of loneliness

(Parveen, 2008)

The Bengali version of Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-

12):This scale was adopted into Bengali language by Ilyas & Sultana in 2002 which was

originally developed by Goldberg (1978) was used to measure mental health of the

respondents. It is a self-administered screening test for detecting minor psychiatric disorders

in general population. This scale contains 12 items and each item is scored on the basis of

four points; ‘less than usual’, ‘No more than usual’, ‘rather more than usual’ and ‘much more

than usual’. There are 6 positive items (2,5,6,9,10 & 11) which are scored with 0,1,2,3 and 6

negative items (1,3,4,7,8 & 12) which are scored 3,2,1,0. Higher scores indicate high mental

health problems. These 12 items had a high degree of internal consistency with alpha values

ranging from 0.82 to 0.90 (Gurije, 1991).

The developmental studies (Goldberg, 1972) showed high internal consistency (0.65), test-

retest reliability (0.73) over a period of 6 months and validity of a good linear relationship

with clinical check-up records as the criteria (r=0.70). Validity of the GQH-12 had been

found to be comparable to those of GQH-20,

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 28

GQH-30 and GQH-60 items version (sensitivity: M = 74%; specificity M = 82%;

misclassification rate – 18%) (Chan and Chan, 1983; Piccnelli et al., 1993).

2.3 Procedure

All the 200 young adults’ respondent age ranging from 18-30 were provided printed

questionnaires along with the instructions as to how they should work. Besides, they were

made to understand the sequence of actions to complete the study. These instruments were

administered individually to the sample. Prior to answering the questions, the respondents

were asked to make a silent reading of the standard instructions that was provided with the

scales. Subjects were asked to choose the most appropriate one and put a tick mark on it. All

necessary clarifications were made regarding the items. There was no time limit for

answering. Therefore, they get enough time to answer the questions after having deliberate

thought. The respondents were requested to record their demographic information (age, sex,

educational qualification, marital status). The total environment of data-collection,

questionnaire-administration had been made very congenial to get maximum output. After

collecting the data, the respondents were given thanks.

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 29

Chapter-3
Results
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 30

Pearson’s product moment correlation and multiple regressions were carried out for

analyzing the data. The results of the study were shown in table 1-5. The following findings

were as follows-

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics of respondents Internet Addiction, Loneliness and Mental Health

Variables M SD N

Internet Addiction 38.23 10.875 200

Loneliness 51.50 6.933 200

Mental Health 28.01 3.501 200

Table 2

Bivariate correlations among respondents Internet Addiction, Loneliness and Mental Health

Variables 1 2 3

1.Internet Addiction - .321** .149**

2. Loneliness - - .212**

3. Mental Health - - -

**p < .01

As shown in Table 2, the relationships between internet addiction and loneliness (r =

.321, p< .01); between internet addiction and mental health (r = .149, p < .01); and between

loneliness and mental health (r =. 212, p< .01) were positively correlated and the correlation

coefficients were found to be significantly different from zero.

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 31

Table 3

Regressions of respondents Internet addiction onLoneliness and Mental Health

Predictors B SEB β t p value

Loneliness .475 .108 .363 4.403 .000

Mental Health .264 .214 .085 1.237 .218

From the Table 3, the unstandardized regression coefficient (B =.475) of internet addiction

associated with loneliness indicated that internet addiction increased .475 unit with each one

unit increase in loneliness holding mental health constant; and the unstandardized regression

coefficient (B= .264) internet addiction associated with mental health indicated that internet

addiction increased .264 unit with each one unit increase in mental health holding loneliness

constant. On the other hand, the standardized regression coefficient (β = .363) of internet

addiction associated with loneliness indicated that internet addiction increased .363 standard

deviation unit with each one standard deviation unit increase in loneliness; and the

standardized regression coefficient (β= .085)of internet addiction associated with mental

health indicated that internet addiction increased .085 standard deviation unit with each one

standard deviation unit increase in mental health.

That is, it could be said that internet addiction of the two predictors was selected as the

stronger predictor forinfluencing internet addiction.

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 32

Table 4

Selected statistics from multiple regression of respondents Internet addiction depending on

Loneliness and Mental Health

Predictors R R2 R2 change

Loneliness .331 .110 .101

Loneliness and Mental Health .227 .510 .191

Table 4 indicated that 11% of the variation in internet addiction could be explained by the

variation of loneliness. Again 51% variation in internet addiction could be accounted for the

variation of loneliness and mental health simultaneously. On the other hand, R2change

revealed that only loneliness explained 10.1% of the variation in internet addiction and only

mental health explained 19.1% of the variation in internet addiction.

Table 5

ANOVA table for regressed respondent’s Internet addiction on Loneliness and Mental Health

SV SS df MS F P value

Regression 2585.315 2 1292.657 12.157 .000

Residual 20947.560 197 106.333

Total 23532.875 199

As shown in Table 5, Internet addiction was significantly influenced by loneliness and mental

health (F2, 197 =12.157,p< .01).

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 33

Chapter-4
Discussion
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 34

The objectives of the present study were (i) To see or determine the relationships between

social networking addiction, loneliness and mental health. (ii) To see the level of internet

addiction as well as social networking addiction among the younger adults in Dhaka city.

(iii) To investigate whether loneliness and mental health can affect or promote an individual

to addict in social networking. To conduct the study, 200 young adults’ respondents were

taken among the Dhaka city whose age level ranging from 18-30 years following purposive

sampling technique. The data were collected through questionnaires. The respondents were

provided with printed questionnaire along with the instructions sheet as how they should

work. Bengali version of Internet Addiction Test (IAT) questionnaire, Bengali version of

revised UCLA loneliness questionnaire, The Bengali version of Goldberg’s General Health

Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) were used to collect the data.

Respondents were asked to choose the most appropriate one and put a tick mark on it. After

collecting the data, the respondents were given thanks for their sincere co-operation. The

obtained data were analyzed by bivariate correlation and multiple regressions through the

statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software. Table 1 shows the Descriptive

statistics of the variable (Mean, Standard deviation and sample size). As we found the mean

of internet addiction is 38.23, we can say that the level of internet addiction in respondents

were minimal. The findings of the bivariate correlation analysis shown in Table 2 confirmed

that internet addiction is positively correlated with loneliness (.321), and internet addiction is

positively correlated with mental health (.149). In a study of Moeedfar et al. (2007),

concluded that those who are addicted to the Internet feel less responsible toward their

society and their surroundings, are more socially alienated, have more educational job

failures, have less social support and feel less self-

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 35

Esteem. In addition, obtained results revealed that those addicted to Internet have a low self-

value.The findings of the proof that internet addiction is positively correlated with

individual’s loneliness and mental health. The findings of regression and multiple regression

analysis were presented in Table 3 and Table 4. 11% of the variation in internet addiction

could be explained by the variation of loneliness. Again 51% variation in internet addiction

could be accounted for the variation of loneliness and mental health simultaneously. On the

other hand, R2change revealed that only loneliness explained 10.1% of the variation in

internet addiction and only mental health explained 19.1% of the variation in internet

addiction. standardized regression coefficient (β = .363) of internet addiction associated

with loneliness indicated that internet addiction increased .363 standard deviation unit with

each one standard deviation unit increase in loneliness; and the standardized regression

coefficient (β= .085) of internet addiction associated with mental health indicated that

internet addiction increased .085 standard deviation unit with each one standard deviation

unit increase in mental health.

That is, it could be said thatLoneliness of the two predictors was selected as the

stronger predictor forinfluencing internet addiction.

SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 36

Chapter-5
References
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 37

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SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 40

Chapter-6
Appendices
SOCIAL NETWORKING, LONELINESS AND MENTAL HEALTH 41

1. Instruction and Demographic information of the Respondents

2. Bangla translated version of Internet Addiction scale (Karim&Nigar, 2014)

3. Bangla translated version of Loneliness scale (Parveen, 2007).

4. Bangla translated version of General Health Questionnaire-12(Ilyas&Ayesha, 2002)