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New Media & Society
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Being young and feeling blue in Taiwan: examining adolescent depressive mood and online and offline activities

Jennie M. Hwang

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA, jmhwang{at}calpoly.edu

Pauline Hope Cheong

Arizona State University, USA

Thomas Hugh Feeley

State University of New York at Buffalo, USA

This study investigates the relationship between Taiwanese adolescents’ depressive mood and their self-reported online and offline activities. The results indicate that adolescents who reported higher depressive mood were more likely to use the internet to make friends and express feelings compared to those who were lower in depressive mood. Teens higher in depressive mood reported to have fewer individuals in their immediate social network to speak with, either online or offline, when feeling blue. Hierarchical linear regression analysis shows that adolescents higher in depressive mood reported to engage in more online activities in the areas of communication, entertainment and information seeking. Further, a positive relationship between depressive mood and participation in risk behaviors is identified. These findings shed light on earlier studies that focus predominantly on US internet users, suggesting that the role that the internet plays for youths with depressive mood may vary by cultural context.

Key Words: adolescence • culture • depressive mood • internet use • risk behaviors • stigma • Taiwan

This version was published on November 1, 2009

New Media & Society, Vol. 11, No. 7, 1101-1121 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1461444809341699
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