Findings suggest that, despite fears based on contrary opinions, Internet use appears to have positive effects on well-being.

Researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford in the UK analyzed data from about two million people aged 15 to 99 from 168 countries, including those in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

The scientists found that life satisfaction levels in all countries were 8.5% higher among those with Internet access, and the level of positive experiences was 8.3% higher.

In 33,000 different models and statistical data subsets, researchers found that 84.9% of the associations between Internet use and well-being were positive.

Andrew Przybylski, a professor of behavioral science and technology at the Oxford Internet Institute, said: "It is somewhat cliché, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And if we want to make the online world safer for young people, we cannot go in with preconceived ideas and one-size-fits-all solutions".

"We need to ensure that we are open to changing our views based on data, and I hope the message reaches where it needs to and doesn't lead to another silly debate", he added.

The professor noted that, in his opinion, a time will come when people will no longer be worried about the use of social networks and the effect of Internet use on young people because their concerns will shift to what comes next.

Assistant professor Matti Vuorre from Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and a former associate researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute, said: "We were surprised to identify a positive correlation between well-being and Internet use in most of the thousands of models we used in our analysis".

In the study, well-being was measured based on eight indicators: life satisfaction, daily negative and positive experiences, two types of social well-being assessments (well-being associated with the area where subjects lived and their sense of safety in that place), physical well-being, community well-being and experiences related to personal purpose.

Factors, such as education, income and health, were also considered, but the study did not analyze data related to social network use.

"Overall, we identified consistent average associations between predictors of Internet use and significantly improved well-being in those who had access to the Internet—or actively used the Internet—compared to others who did not have access or did not use the Internet", Przybylski said.

"We urge platform providers to share detailed user behavior data with social science researchers for transparent and independent scientific analysis, to allow for a comprehensive understanding of the (impact) of Internet-related technologies in our daily lives", the specialist added.

For this study, published in the American Psychological Association's Technology, Mind and Behavior journal, researchers used data from the Gallup World Poll of 2,414,294 people from 168 countries, from 2006 to 2021.