Effect of internet use in adolescents: A scoping review

Introduction and Background: Internet has a wide variety of uses in our daily life, like sharing files and information, communication, education, work, entertainment, shopping etc. Internet use has been found to be more in adolescents. Many studies have identified both positive and negative correlates of internet use among adolescents The aim of this scoping review was to find the literature available on the positive and negative effects of internet use in health of adolescents and also to find its effects on the occupational functioning in adolescents. Method: Scoping review was conducted by collecting the studies done on adolescents and internet use from major online databases available in Manipal Academy of Higher Education library. Full text studies related to positive and negative effects of internet in healthy adolescents that were published in English between 2000 and 2017 were included for review. Our literature searches initially gathered 136 studies. 40 full text studies were found to be relevant and were independently screened by three investigators. Result: Out of the 40 studies identified, 12 studies positively and 26 studies negatively discussed about the effect of internet use on adolescents. 2 studies found that internet use had both positive and negative effects on adolescent health. The positive effects on health included improved self-awareness, improved peer interaction etc. and the negative effects included loneliness, decreased energy etc. There were 4 studies that discussed about the effect of internet use on occupational functioning of adolescents. Conclusion: Internet use may have both positive and negative influence on health of adolescents and if it is used in the supervised environment can have beneficial effects on health and occupational functioning among adolescents.