The Relationship Between Global Internet Access and Mental Health in the Digital Age: A Comparative Analysis Across Countries
Keywords:
Internet access, Mental health, Digital transformation, Comparative analysis between countries, Digital ageAbstract
The rapid development of global internet access has transformed patterns of social, economic, and cultural interaction, but has also given rise to new challenges related to mental health in the digital era. While the internet is often viewed as a means of improving well-being and accessing information, empirical evidence suggests a complex dynamic between the intensity of digital connectivity and people's psychological well-being. This study aims to analyze the relationship between global internet access and mental health through a cross-country comparative approach, focusing on the global context and case studies of Indonesia and Singapore. This study uses a qualitative approach with content analysis of secondary big data sourced from Our World in Data, including indicators of internet usage, prevalence of mental health disorders, and reports of anxiety and depression. Data are analyzed descriptively and interpretively to identify temporal patterns, cross-country differences, and contextual links between digital transformation and mental health. The results show that increasing global internet access and use are accompanied by a rising prevalence of mental health disorders, particularly in the period after 2019. Countries with high internet penetration rates and countries experiencing accelerated digital adoption both face mental health risks, albeit with different characteristics. These findings indicate that the impact of digitalization on mental health is not linear, but rather influenced by social, cultural, and digital governance factors. This research contributes to the literature by offering a cross-country comparative perspective and a qualitative content analysis approach to global health data, which is rarely used in similar studies. However, this study is limited by its use of aggregate data and its failure to directly test causal relationships. Therefore, future research is recommended to develop a longitudinal approach and incorporate primary qualitative data to gain a deeper understanding.
References
Aji, M. P., & Indrawan, J. (2019). Memahami Studi Perdamaian Sebagai Bagian Dari Ilmu Hubungan Internasional. Jurnal Pertahanan & Bela Negara, 9(3), 65. https://doi.org/10.33172/jpbh.v9i3.637
Alqazlan, L., Fang, Z., Castelle, M., & Procter, R. (2025). A Novel, Human-in-the-Loop Computational Grounded Theory Framework for Big Social Data. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.06083
Anggraeni, L. (2024). Perspektif Global Kesehatan Mental Kaum Pemuda (Remaja, Adolesen & Dewasa Awal) Di Amerika Serikat, Eropa, Negara Persemakmuran & Asia Tenggara Tahun 2024: Sebuah Tinjauan Pustaka Sistematis. Jurnal Ilmu Kesehatan Karya Bunda Husada, 10(2), 34–61. https://doi.org/10.56861/jikkbh.v10i2.140
Aribowo, P., & Bagaskara, M. I. (2025). Dampak Penggunaan Media Sosial “Brain Rot” terhadap Kesehatan Mental Remaja. Jurnal Sosial Teknologi, 5(3), 350–357. https://doi.org/10.59188/jurnalsostech.v5i3.32020
Cahya, M. N., Ningsih, W., & Lestari, A. (2023). Dampak Media Sosial terhadap Kesejahteraan Psikologi. Jurnal Sosial Dan Teknologi (SOSTECHI), 3(8), 703–706. file:///C:/Users/ASUS/Downloads/Dampak_Media_Sosial_terhadap_Kesejahteraan_Psikolo.pdf
Cavalcanti, B., Hemsley, P., & Moraes, F. (2024). Internet Use and Mental Health: Evidence from a Global Panel of 189 Countries. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 11(12), 375–379. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.1112.18110
Cheng, C., Lau, Y. ching, Chan, L., & Luk, J. W. (2021). Prevalence of social media addiction across 32 nations: Meta-analysis with subgroup analysis of classification schemes and cultural values. Addictive Behaviors, 117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106845
Elo, Satu, Kääriäinen, Maria, Kanste, Outi, Pölkki, Tarja, Utriainen, Kati, & Kyngäs, Helvi. (2014). Qualitative Content Analysis: A Focus on Trustworthiness. Sage Open, 4(1), 2158244014522633. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014522633
Freeman, M. (2022). The World Mental Health Report: transforming mental health for all. World Psychiatry : Official Journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 21(3), 391–392. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21018
Fu, J., Li, C., Zhou, C., Li, W., Lai, J., Deng, S., Zhang, Y., Guo, Z., & Wu, Y. (2023). Methods for Analyzing the Contents of Social Media for Health Care: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e43349. https://doi.org/10.2196/43349
Hakim, A., Mulyana, A., & Amalia, M. (2024). Peran Pemerintah Terhadap Kesehatan Mental Masyarakat Di Era Modern. JURNAL HUKUM KESEHATAN INDONESIA. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:272174293
Handayani, T., Ayubi, D., & Anshari, D. (2020). Literasi Kesehatan Mental Orang Dewasa dan Penggunaan Pelayanan Kesehatan Mental. Perilaku Dan Promosi Kesehatan: Indonesian Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior, 2(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.47034/ppk.v2i1.3905
Hermansyah, H., & Rauntu, A. (2024). Hubungan antara karakteristik sosial dan ekonomi dengan prevalensi kesehatan mental di Indonesia. Journal of Nursing Practice and Education, 5(1), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.34305/jnpe.v5i1.1412
Javaid, S. F., Hashim, I. J., Hashim, M. J., Stip, E., Samad, M. A., & Ahbabi, A. Al. (2023). Epidemiology of anxiety disorders: global burden and sociodemographic associations. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-023-00315-3
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1590851
Lee, Y., Jeon, Y., Kang, S., Shin, J., Jung, Y.-C., & Jung, S. J. (2022). Social media use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults: a meta-analysis of 14 cross-sectional studies. BMC Public Health, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13409-0
Lim, M. (2014). Informational Terrains of Identity and Political Power: The Internet in Indonesia. Antropologi Indonesia.
Luo, Y., Yip, P. S. F., & Zhang, Q. (2025). Positive association between Internet use and mental health among adults aged ≥50 years in 23 countries. Nature Human Behaviour, 9(1), 90–100. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02048-7
Robinson, E., Sutin, A. R., Daly, M., & Jones, A. (2022). A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296, 567–576. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.098
Suryoadji, K. A., Ali, N., Sutanto, R. L., Christian, C., Putra, E. N. W., Faruqi, M., Simanjuntak, K. T., A’yun, I. Q., Setyawan, D. A., & Suskhan, R. F. (2024). Kesehatan Mental Di Era Digital: Tinjauan Naratif Dampak Media Sosial Dan Teknologi Digital Pada Kesehatan Mental Dan Upaya Untuk Mengatasinya. Jurnal Ilmiah Kesehatan, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.33221/jikes.v23i1.3115
Tuan, L. T. (2022). Employee mindfulness and proactive coping for technostress in the COVID-19 outbreak: The roles of regulatory foci, technostress, and job insecurity. Computers in Human Behavior, 129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107148
Twenge, J. M., Cooper, A. B., Joiner, T. E., Duffy, M. E., & Binau, S. G. (2019). Age, Period, and Cohort Trends in Mood Disorder Indicators and Suicide-Related Outcomes in a Nationally Representative Dataset, 2005-2017. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 128(3), 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000410
Vuorre, M., & Przybylski, A. K. (2024). A multiverse analysis of the associations between internet use and well-being. Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 5(2), 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000127
WHO. (2022). World mental health report: transforming mental health for all. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/356119
Wiraguna, S. A., & Widjaja, R. R. (2024). Metode Penelitian Kualitatifdi Era Transformasi Digital Qualitative Research Methods in the Era of Digital Transformation. Jurnal Arsitektur Dan Kota Berkelanjutan, 6(1), 46–60. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.47970/arsitekta.v6i01.524
Zhang, C., Wang, Y., Wang, J., & Liu, X. (2022). Does internet use promote mental health among middle-aged and older adults in China? Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 999498. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.999498
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Metty Verasari, Dian Sartika Sari (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms.
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
