Off-Duty Internet Use and Depression: The Japanese Civil Servants Study

Both on-duty and off-duty internet use are increasing and may have health effects. Off-duty internet use, in particular, has increased rapidly due to the proliferation of smartphones. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between prolonged off-duty internet use and depression among Japanese civil servants.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019 among 3,751 civil servants aged 20-65 years employed by a local government on the west coast of Japan. Psychosocial stress at work, work-family conflict, and time spent using the internet were evaluated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine whether there is an association between off-duty internet use time and depression as measured using the Japanese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.

The study included 3,403 participants; depressive symptoms were present in 28.3% (26.1% of men and 31.4% of women). Multivariate analysis showed that, in women, prolonged off-duty internet use, low job control, low job support, being unmarried, work-family conflict, and low sleep quality were associated with depression. In men, in addition to these factors, low job class, no overtime work, high job demands, chronic illness, and sleep duration were associated with depression. While multivariate analysis revealed no statistically significant association between electronic device use at work and depression, prolonged off-duty internet use (≥4 hours per day) was significantly associated with higher odds of depression in both men (odds ratio [OR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-3.10) and women (OR 2.31, 95% CI 1.32-4.05).

Prolonged off-duty internet use was independently associated with depression among Japanese civil servants. This association may be related to factors such as superficial virtual connections or information overload. More attention should be paid to internet use for maintaining the mental health of civil servants.