The effect of broadband Internet on the gender gap in mental health: Evidence from Germany

Abstract

Mental health conditions, together with substance-use disorders, account for a significant share of the global disease burden (Collins et al., 2011;Vos et al., 2012). This share is particularly large among the population aged 10-24, and has significantly increased over time between 1990 and 2017. 1 Further, women are almost twice as likely as men to experience episodes of depression (DeRubeis et al., 2008; WHO, 2000). The economic costs of poor mental health are large. The World Health Organization estimates the current cost to the global economy of depression and anxiety to be around US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity (Patel et al., 2016; WHO, 2019) 2 and a large body of evidence highlights the negative consequences of mental illness on individual economic outcomes. 3 Yet, despite the significant societal and economic burden of mental health disorders, to date relatively little is known about the determinants of mental health and factors affecting psychological well-being over the lifetime. Recently, attention has been drawn to the role of Internet and mobile technologies in contributing to the rise of mental disorders, especially among the population of young adults. 4 The scientific evidence on the effect of these new technologies is however scant. In this paper, I aim to fill this gap in the literature and look at the causal effect of broadband Internet access on self-reported mental health, and the role of technology in contributing to the gender gap in mental health.

The temperature of internet: Internet use and depression of the elderly in China

“…Different from these studies, a recent work estimated the causal effect of internet use on residents' depression status ( 47 ), even though causality cannot be fully identified due to a flaw in selected method. Using an instrumental variable-based approach, another work finds a negative effect of internet access on young women's mental health ( 64 ). Our work complements the above strand of literature by measuring depression with a more comprehensive indicator.…”

Mental health economics—Social determinants and care‐use

“…Many commentators and researchers have speculated whether it has led to a net benefit for people's emotional and mental well‐being. The paper by Golin (2022) takes on the hugely important question: “What is the effect of access to broadband Internet on mental health?” Her instrumental variables analysis finds that household broadband adoption in Germany led to a statistically significant and economically meaningful deterioration of mental health status for younger adults, driven by effects on women. This important result raises many questions for future research in economics and other disciplines.…”

Relationship between Internet Use and Negative Affect

“…A significant strand of literature has explored the relationship between Internet use and negative affect, such as mental depression, emotional problems, and loneliness (Ding et al, 2022 ; Fan & Yang, 2022 ; Golin, 2022 ; Hökby et al, 2016 ; Nowland et al, 2018 ; Silva et al, 2020 ; Thom et al, 2018 ; Wallinheimo & Evans, 2022 ; Yu et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ). However, the findings are still mixed.…”

“…Hökby et al ( 2016 ) found that the magnitude of Internet use among adolescents and young adults is negatively associated with mental health in some European countries, including Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, and Sweden. Golin ( 2022 ) showed that broadband Internet leads to worse mental health for women (primarily those aged 17–30) but not for men in Germany. In contrast, some studies recorded a positive influence of Internet use on health outcomes.…”