INTERNET

[Guest guest]

PITTSBURGH (AP)

The more time people spend on the Internet, the more depressed,stressed and

lonely they feel, according to a ground breaking study that surprised its

authors.

Internet us had the same effect even for people who spent most of

their time in such social activities as chat rooms or exchanging email, said

the study headed by Robert Kraut , a social psychology professor at Carnegie

Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Sociable users ended up feeling just as isolated as users who spent more

time crawling the Web for information, Kraut said Sunday.

One reason for the negative effect may have been that using the

Internet left less time for the deeper relationships of friends and family,

Kraut suggested.

"People are substituting weaker social ties for stronger ones,: he

said. "They're substituting conversations on narrower topics with strangers

for conversations with people who are connected to their life."

....The findings contradicted the researchers' expectations that Internet use

would foster social contact, especially through email and chat rooms.

.....The study will continue in order to examine the mechanisms that seem to

produce the emotional effects and how computer use compares with television

use.

Other scientists told the New York Times that the research may start

a debate over how the Internet should be shaped....