A new study from the University of Duisburg-Essen, published in PLOS One, has confirmed what anyone who has ever doom-scrolled at 2 a.m. already knew: spending excessive time online is linked to higher stress, worse mood, and neglecting things like, you know, living your actual life.

The researchers surveyed 900 German adults in 2025 who admitted to gaming, using social networks, online shopping, or consuming pornography at least once in the past year - so, a representative sample of anyone who owns a device. Based on their usage frequency, participants were sorted into three categories: pathological, risky, or non-problematic. Problematic internet use was defined as excessive use that causes functional impairment or distress - basically, when your Wi-Fi goes down and you feel your soul leave your body.

For two weeks, participants completed nightly assessments reporting their mood, stress levels, temptation to engage in problematic internet use, total time online, how much pleasure they derived from it, and whether they had neglected other activities (like exercise, socializing, or blinking). The results: people with more severe problematic internet use had worse mood, more stress, longer screen time, and greater neglect of life’s other offerings.

Lead author Andreas Oelker noted that temptation, not stress or mood alone, is the main driver of continued internet use - with pleasure and relief acting as reinforcing factors. “Understanding why individuals at risk go online at particular moments is essential for developing better prevention strategies,” he said. In other words, it’s not that you’re sad; it’s that you really, really want to check Twitter again.

The study confirmed that daily stress, mood, and temptation can predict internet usage, and that these factors in turn affect pleasure, relief, and neglect of other activities. However, co-author Silke M. Müller stressed that not all internet use is bad: “Only a small percentage of users develop pathological patterns. Using the internet brings joy and relief as long as other important areas of life - like exercise, time outdoors, or hanging out with friends - are not systematically neglected.” So go ahead, enjoy your memes. Just maybe also touch some grass.