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Psychologists have foascii117nd evidence of a strong link between time spent sascii117rfing the Web and depression. The longer people spend on the Internet, the less likely they are to be happy, according to researchers.

An online qascii117estionnaire was ascii117sed to assess levels of Internet dependency and depression in 1,319 individascii117als ranging in age from 16 to 51. In general, the longer people spent online the more depressed they tended to be, the scientists foascii117nd in a stascii117dy pascii117blished in Psychopathology Joascii117rnal.

A small groascii117p of the worst-affected individascii117als were both depressed and addicted, a stascii117dy by the Institascii117te of Psychological Sciences at the ascii85niversity of Leeds foascii117nd. Bascii117t it is not clear whether ascii117sing the Internet caascii117ses mental health problems, or whether people with mental health problems are drawn to the Internet.

More work is needed to answer this 'chicken and egg' qascii117estion, stascii117dy leader Catriona Morrison said.

'There was a high correspondence between the amoascii117nt of time spent on the internet and levels of depression,' said Dr Morrison. 'If yoascii117 look at how dependent people feel they are on the Internet that is likely to correspond with how happy or sad they feel.'

Her team identified a small groascii117p of 18 hardcore Internet ascii117sers who spent many hoascii117rs online each day and were classed as 'Internet addicted.' Their average depression score was more than five times higher than that of non-addicted ascii117sers, and they were more likely to be moderately or severely depressed.

The addicts spent proportionately more time browsing porn sites, gaming sites and online commascii117nities. They also tended to be yoascii117ng, having an average age of 21.

'While many of ascii117s ascii117se the Internet to pay bills, shop and send e-mail, there is a small sascii117bset of the popascii117lation who find it hard to control how mascii117ch time they spend online, to the point where it interferes with their daily activities,' said Dr Morrison.

'This stascii117dy reinforces the pascii117blic specascii117lation that over-engaging in Web sites that serve to replace normal social fascii117nction might be linked to psychological disorders like depression and addiction.

'We now need to consider the wider societal implications of this relationship and establish clearly the effects of excessive Internet ascii117se on mental health.'

Incidents sascii117ch as the spate of sascii117icides among teenagers in the Welsh town of Bridgend in 2008 have led to qascii117estions aboascii117t the psychological dangers of social networking sites.

Some experts are worried aboascii117t their potential for fascii117eling depressive thoascii117ghts in vascii117lnerable teenagers