MOBILE INTERNET AND MENTAL HEALTH

We study the relationship between 3G mobile internet rollout and mental health in the United States by combining the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data with the Collins Bartholomew's Mobile Coverage Explorer (MCE) data from 2011 to 2020. Unlike many existing studies that use state or county as the level of aggregation, our analysis uses a sample of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. Based on our findings, 3G mobile internet has a substantial negative effect on mental health, and instrumenting 3G rollout with pre-existing 2G infrastructure suggests the effects are causal. Young cohorts with high education and income levels are more likely to experience adverse effects on their mental health.