ArticleNature human behaviour2025
Web-browsing patterns reflect and shape mood and mental health.
Article in Nature human behaviour, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards naturalistic social neuroscience: A multi-level framework integrating real-world phenotyping, neurobiology, and computational mechanisms.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- Interpretable abstractions of artificial neural networks predict behavior and neural activity during human information gathering.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Explainable AI for Well-Being Prediction From Lifestyle Data: 2-Study Design.JMIR mental health · 2026Article
- Cognitive modeling of real-world behavior for understanding mental health.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2026Review
- The Impact of Emotion Perception and Gaze Sharing on Collaborative Experience and Performance in Multiplayer Games.Journal of eye movement research · 2026Article
- Acceptability of Sharing Internet Browsing History for Cancer Research: Think-Aloud and Interview Study.JMIR cancer · 2026Article
- Examining the Association Between Internet Use and Perceived Stress in Adults: Longitudinal Observational Study Combining Web Tracking Data With Questionnaires.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Observational
- Preoperative anxiety: Is it affected by preoperative counseling and surgical technique?PloS one · 2026Article
- Testing the feasibility of passive sensing among adolescents: Implications for mental health.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators of nurse second victim of patient safety incident actively to seek support: a qualitative study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- New Perspective on Digital Well-Being by Distinguishing Digital Competency From Dependency: Network Approach.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- The longitudinal relationship between loneliness and problematic social networking site use in college students: the mediating role of trait- and state-fear of missing out.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Quality and reliability of chest Pain-Related short-form health videos on social media: A cross-sectional content analysis.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Humans spend on average 6.5 hours a day online. A large portion of that time is dedicated to information-seeking. How does this activity impact mental health? We assess this over four studies (n = 1,145). We reveal that the valence of information sought affects mental health, which in turn influences the valence of information sought, forming a self-reinforcing loop. We quantified the valence of text on webpages participants chose to browse using natural language processing and found that browsing more negative information was associated with worse mental health and mood. By manipulating the webpages browsed and measuring mood and vice versa, we show that the relationship is causal and bidirectional. Finally, we developed an intervention that altered web-browsing patterns in a manner that improved mood. Together, the findings suggest that the information sought reflects mental state and shapes it, creating a loop that may perpetuate mental health problems. The results also provide a potential method for assessing and enhancing welfare in the digital age.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.