Doctors should ask about Facebook membership as part of medical history

By Pat Kelly. New recommendations from the American Academy of Paediatrics suggest that doctors should include whether or not a child or adolescent is a Facebook member and their online habits generally in their medical history.

The authors also point to research conducted by the Institute of Psychological Sciences at the University of Leeds, exploring a possible link between internet addiction (IA) and depression among adolescents. The authors used an IA Test, Internet function Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory in internet users.

Of the 18 (1.2 per cent) who could be classified as “internet-addicted”, boys showed more internet-addictive tendencies than girls and importantly, there was a strongly suggestive link between internet addiction and depressive symptoms.

The boys in the IA group also showed a higher propensity towards using sites that were based around chatrooms, gambling or sexual gratification.

The authors concluded that “IA is emerging as a construct that must be taken seriously” and on foot of that, among other conclusions, the American Academy of Paediatrics has suggested that including internet habits in a medical history can be a valuable indicator in terms of depression.

pat.kelly@imt.ie