Are you feeling a little down?  Well, depression is one of the most common ailments in the United States, and depression affects every part of your life.  Everything changes, from social relationships to job performance.  Depression even changes your Internet usage habits, according to researchers from Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The researchers, led by Sriram Chellappan, collected Internet use data from 216 college students enrolled at the university.  The information was collected anonymously, so as not to interfere with their browsing patterns.  The participants were administered tests to determine depression, then their online exploits were examined and analyzed.  According to the study, if users were depressed, they spent more time using file-sharing programs, chatting, and sending emails.  Other popular activities were online video games and watching online video clips.

Admittedly, these things are popular all the time, but the difference in a depressed person’s habits is duration and fluctuation.  A depressed person might send an email, watch a video, play a game, do some chatting, and just keep bouncing from activity with no purpose or focus.  That seems to be how I use the Internet all the time even when I am in a great mood.  I question the validity of this study.