A recent study examining the effects of exercise interventions on Internet addiction among college students in China found that exercise reduces symptoms of Internet addiction. Additionally, exercise was found to reduce anxiety, loneliness, stress, feelings of inadequacy, and fatigue, as well as depression, while improving overall mental health. The paper was published in Addictive Behaviors.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Internet has revolutionized the way people live. The percentage of the population using the Internet has exploded, changing the way people communicate, work, and spend their free time. It has made the world’s knowledge easily accessible to everyone and allowed people to connect regardless of geographical distances. However, despite its innumerable benefits, the Internet has also led to some adverse outcomes, such as Internet addiction.
Internet addiction is defined as a compulsive need to use the Internet excessively, leading to negative effects on daily life, relationships, and mental health. It can involve activities such as social media use, gaming, online shopping, or excessive web browsing. People with Internet addiction struggle to control their online time, which can result in the neglect of responsibilities, sleep disturbances, and emotional distress. This condition is linked to dopamine-driven reward mechanisms in the brain, similar to other behavioral addictions.
Study author Yan Yan and his colleagues aimed to assess the efficacy of exercise interventions in managing and improving symptoms of Internet addiction. They also sought to identify specific factors relevant to the outcomes of such interventions and to explore the impact of these interventions on other psychological symptoms. Exercise interventions for Internet addiction involve structured physical activities, such as aerobic exercise, strength training, or sports.
The authors searched databases of published scientific articles (Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang) for experimental studies (randomized controlled trials) conducted on students with Internet addiction or similar addictions (e.g., smartphone addiction). They looked for studies that compared the effects of the intervention to no intervention and that were published in English or Chinese.
The initial search yielded 3,102 results. After reviewing these results, the authors identified 14 studies that met all their criteria. These 14 studies presented the results of 19 experimental trials and included 760 students with Internet addiction. All of the studies were conducted in mainland China.
There were three categories of exercise interventions: open motor skills, closed motor skills, and a combination of both. Open motor skill exercises involve movements performed in unpredictable environments where individuals must react to external changes, such as in basketball or soccer. Closed motor skill exercises take place in controlled, stable settings with repetitive movements, such as running, swimming, or weightlifting.
The duration of these interventions ranged from 4 to 18 weeks, with 2 to 5 sessions per week at moderate intensity, each session lasting between 50 and 120 minutes. Control groups did not receive any intervention and continued their lives as usual.
Results showed that exercise interventions had strong effects on reducing symptoms of Internet addiction. They also resulted in significant reductions in anxiety, loneliness, stress, and feelings of inadequacy, along with an overall improvement in mental health. Reductions in fatigue and depressive symptoms were moderate.
“This current review demonstrated that exercise-based interventions can effectively reduce the level of Internet addiction and improve the psychological symptoms of college students with Internet addiction. The optimal types of exercise for college students suffering from Internet addiction are open motor skill and the combination of both open and closed skill,” the study authors concluded.
The study integrates the results of research investigating the effects of exercise on Internet addiction among college students. However, it should be noted that all the studies were conducted in China. Results for other cultural groups and demographic groups other than students might differ. Additionally, the results reported by the individual studies included in this analysis were quite heterogeneous.
The paper, “Effects of exercise interventions on Internet addiction among college students: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials,” was authored by Yan Yan, Xiangrong Qin, Liangru Liu, Weiyang Zhang, and Bowen Li.