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Lost in the Net? Broadband Internet and Youth Mental Health

Author

Listed:
  • Dante Donati
  • Ruben Durante
  • Francesco Sobbrio
  • Dijana Zejcirovic
Abstract
How does the internet affect young people’s mental health? We study this question in the context of Italy using administrative data on the universe of cases of mental disorders diagnosed in Italian hospitals between 2001 and 2013, which we combine with information on broadband internet availability at the municipal level. Our identification strategy exploits differences in the proximity of municipalities to the pre-existing voice telecommunication infrastructure, which was previously irrelevant but became salient after the advent of the internet. Our findings indicate that broadband internet access raises the prevalence of mental disorders among younger cohorts (born between 1985 and 1995) by 0.08 standard deviation units, but it does not impact older individuals (born between 1974 and 1984). The adverse effects are driven by individuals who were exposed to broadband internet early in their lives (before the age of 20). These effects persist even when examining instances of self-harm and urgent or compulsory hospitalizations, indicating that the negative outcomes are not merely a result of increased awareness and detection of these conditions. Finally, we show that the detrimental impacts span across different pathologies, including depression, anxiety, drug abuse, and personality disorders for both genders, in addition to eating disorders for females.

Suggested Citation

  • Dante Donati & Ruben Durante & Francesco Sobbrio & Dijana Zejcirovic, 2022. "Lost in the Net? Broadband Internet and Youth Mental Health," CESifo Working Paper Series 9676, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9676
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9676.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. El costo de ser un nativo digital: efectos del acceso a internet en el desarrollo infantil
      by Natalia Nollenberger in Razones y personas: repensando Uruguay on 2023-07-27 22:37:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Guy Aridor & Rafael Jiménez-Durán & Ro'ee Levy & Lena Song, 2024. "The Economics of Social Media," CESifo Working Paper Series 10934, CESifo.
    2. Sofia Amaral‐Garcia & Mattia Nardotto & Carol Propper & Tommaso Valletti, 2024. "Information and vaccine hesitancy: The role of broadband Internet," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(9), pages 1936-1948, September.
    3. Marta Golin, 2022. "The effect of broadband Internet on the gender gap in mental health: Evidence from Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 6-21, October.
    4. Sabatini, Fabio, 2023. "The Behavioral, Economic, and Political Impact of the Internet and Social Media: Empirical Challenges and Approaches," IZA Discussion Papers 16703, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Xie, Tingting & Yuan, Ye & Zhang, Hui, 2023. "Information, awareness, and mental health: Evidence from air pollution disclosure in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    6. Abrahamsson, Sara, 2024. "Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 1/2024, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    mental health; internet; ADSL; 3G;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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