Psychologists have exposed a dark side of the internet which suggests there’s a definite correlation between the quantity of time spent surfing or blogging and severe depression.

A team of scientists in the United Kingdom have discovered that the longer internet users spent online, lower were their level of happiness.

It emerged during the research that a small group of internet users where both depressed and addicted, although the study couldn’t reveal if excessive exposure to the web generates mental health problems, or whether individuals already suffering from mental health problems get easily drawn to the internet.

Researchers claimed n that more work was required n order to answer that question.

According to the research’s leader Dr Catriona Morrison, who is employed by the University of Leeds’ Institute of Psychological Sciences, the web currently occupies a huge role in modern life although all its benefits come with a tragic and dark characteristic.

To carry out their research, scientists employed the internet to submit an online questionnaire to 1,319 people ranging from 16 to 51 in age which was used to gauge the various levels of internet dependency and depression.

Scientist found that the longer users were online, the more they tended to be depressed.

Dr Morrison said that “there was a high correspondence between the amount of time spent on the internet and levels of depression.”

She added that when we observe the time spent online, we can see how happy or sad an individual feels.