You are what you ‘consume’: Study shows the connection between poor mental health and negative online content

Research shows a bi-directional relationship between mental health and web browsing, highlighting how negative content can exacerbate symptoms.

As the adage goes, you are what you eat, in a seemingly digital world that is applicable too for online media consumption. Online content consumption plays a major role in shaping mental health. A noteworthy study led by UCL researchers, published in Nature Human Behaviour, elaborated on a bi-directional relationship between mental health and web-browsing habits. It was found that those with poor mental health were more when exposed to negative content online.

The link between negative content and mental health

The study examined the browsing habits of over 1,000 participants in the study, assessing the emotional tone of the web pages they visited. Then the participants also opened up about their existing mental health concerns and mood. The researchers identified a clear pattern. Those participants who were experiencing worse mental health symptoms browsed negative content more often. It’s a vicious loop, depicting the causal link; exposure to negative content worsened mood, which then led the participants to seek out even more negative material.

Co-lead author Professor Tali Sharot said, "Our results show that browsing negatively valenced content not only mirrors a person's mood but can also actively worsen it. This creates a feedback loop that can perpetuate mental health challenges over time."

Content label

The researchers came up with content labels to counter this alarming cycle. They introduced a creative plug-in tool that would give an insight into the web page’s content. The researchers compared it to nutrition labels on food. It would provide insights into a webpage’s likely impact on mood, functionality, and informativeness.