Internet Addictions and Problematic Use of the Internet: Terminology and Causalities

1) Background: It has been more than a decade since the concern about addictive use of the Internet and mobile phones was first expressed and its possible inclusion into the lists of mental disorders has been a popular topic of discussion recently, thus it seems to be a fitting moment to investigate the evolution of this issue over time. The aim of the present study was to analyze the evolution of the perception of problematic Internet and smartphone use in young people over the period 2006–2017; 2) Methods: To this end, a questionnaire on Internet use habits and the CERI and CERM questionnaires on negative consequences of Internet and smartphone use were administered to a sample of 792 university students and compared with data from former studies over the period 2006–2017; 3) Results: The perception of problematic Internet and mobile phone use has increased over the last decade, social networks are considered responsible for this increase, and females are the ones perceived to be more affected than males. The degree to which participants agree with the statement “I am addicted to the Internet” can be used as a screening item for problematic use.

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Intervention Programs for the Problematic Use of the Internet and Technological Devices: A Systematic Review

Electronics ◽

10.3390/electronics10232923 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (23) ◽

pp. 2923

Author(s):

Elizabeth Cañas ◽

Estefanía Estévez

Keyword(s):

Public Health Problem ◽

Communication Technologies ◽

Intervention Programs ◽

The Internet ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Intensive Use ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Mental And Physical Health

The intensive use of the Internet and communication technologies among adolescents has increased addiction and/or their problematic use. The innovative and revolutionary development of this technology can have negative effects on the mental and physical health of its users, and it seems to have a greater impact on adolescents. As this is causing a public health problem, the objective of this study was to review the different intervention and prevention programs for this problem in adolescents. A total of 14 programs met the inclusion criteria. The analysis of the programs allows for the identification of effective intervention designs for prevention, and also for the treatment of the current problems derived from the use of the Internet and technological devices among adolescent users.

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Cyberbullying and problematic Internet use in Colombia, Uruguay and Spain: Cross-cultural study

Comunicar ◽

10.3916/c56-2018-05 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (56) ◽

pp. 49-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Carolina Yudes-Gómez ◽

Daniela Baridon-Chauvie ◽

Joaquín-Manuel González-Cabrera

Keyword(s):

Cultural Study ◽

Internet Use ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Problematic Internet Use ◽

The Internet ◽

South American ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Cross Cultural Study ◽

Use Of The Internet

The goal of this cross-cultural study was to analyze and compare the cybervictimization and cyberaggression scores, and the problematic Internet use between Spain, Colombia and Uruguay. Despite cultural similarities between the Spanish and the South American contexts, there are few empirical studies that have comparatively examined this issue. The study sample consisted of 2,653 subjects aged 10-18 years. Data was collected through the cyberbullying questionnaire and the Spanish version of the “Revised generalized and problematic Internet use scale”. Results showed a higher prevalence of minor cyberbullying behavior in Spain between 10-14 years. In the three countries compared, there was a higher prevalence of two types of bystanders: the defender of the victim and the outsider, although in Colombia there were more profiles of assistant to the bully. Regarding the problematic use of the Internet, there were not differences between the three countries. We provide evidence on the relationship between cybervictimization and cyberaggression and problematic use of the Internet. The dimensions of compulsive use and regulation of mood are the best predictors of cyberbullying. We discuss our results in relation to the possible normalization of violence and its lack of recognition as such. El objetivo de este estudio transcultural ha sido analizar y comparar las puntuaciones de cibervictimización y ciberagresión, y el uso problemático de Internet en adolescentes de España, Colombia y Uruguay, ya que pese a las semejanzas culturales existentes entre el contexto latinoamericano y español son escasos los estudios empíricos que los han comparado previamente. La muestra estuvo formada por 2.653 participantes de 10 a 18 años. Se recogieron datos a través del cuestionario de ciberacoso y de la versión en castellano del «Revised generalized and problematic Internet use scale». Los resultados ponen de manifiesto una mayor prevalencia de conductas de ciberacoso leve en España entre los 10-14 años. En los tres países, destacan dos roles de ciberobservador: defensor de la víctima y no comprometido ante la agresión, aunque con más perfiles de apoyo al agresor en Colombia. No se observan diferencias en un uso problemático de Internet entre los tres países. Se proporcionan evidencias sobre la relación de la cibervictimización y ciberagresión con el uso problemático de Internet. Las dimensiones de uso compulsivo y regulación del estado anímico son las que mejor predicen el ciberacoso. Los resultados son discutidos con relación a la posible normalización de la violencia y su falta de reconocimiento como tal.

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Low empathy is associated with problematic use of the Internet: Empirical evidence from China and Germany

Asian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.ajp.2015.06.019 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 ◽

pp. 56-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Martin Melchers ◽

Mei Li ◽

Yafei Chen ◽

Wanqi Zhang ◽

Christian Montag

Keyword(s):

Empirical Evidence ◽

The Internet ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Use Of The Internet

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Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Adolescents and the Use of the Internet: A Report From Research Conducted in Poland

Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education ◽

10.35765/mjse.2021.1020.02 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2 (20)) ◽

pp. 35-56

Author(s):

Anna Michalczyk

Keyword(s):

Self Esteem ◽

Hearing Impaired ◽

The Internet ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Self Image ◽

Sense Of Security ◽

The Social ◽

Global Aspect ◽

Use Of The Internet ◽

Pro Social Behavior

The article presents the second attempt in Poland at examining the use of the Internet by 150 hearing and hearing-impaired adolescents. The empirical research concerned both groups’ “navigating” in the virtual world. A comparative analysis was carried out on the differentiation, dependencies, and correlations between a group of hearing respondents (girls and boys) and a group with hearing impairment in terms of their intrapersonal and interpersonal attitudes and attitudes towards the world. The intrapersonal sphere included self-image and self-esteem in a global aspect. It consisted of non-specific, general self-esteem, and partial self-esteem: the cognitive, intellectual, physical, characterological, and socio-moral spheres. Interpersonal attitudes were understood in the eyes of the respondent as an image of the rest of society and the relations between them. Thus, the sphere of “others towards me” appeared, based on the sense of support from the social environment, appreciation or indifference, threat from others, or a sense of security, among other things. In the area of “me towards others,” the dependencies concerned pro-social behavior, the general attitude towards other people, an altruistic attitude, egocentrism or sociability, a tendency to isolate oneself, aggression or a lack of aggressive behavior, problematic use of the Internet – an adaptation of IAT A. Young, which measures a subject’s sense of loneliness by De J. Gierveld – content sought on the Internet, the positive aspects of using the Internet, risks associated with it, and addiction.

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Problematic Use of the Internet and Smartphones in University Students: 2006–2017

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15030475 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 475 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Xavier Carbonell ◽

Andrés Chamarro ◽

Ursula Oberst ◽

Beatriz Rodrigo ◽

Mariona Prades

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

The Internet ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Use Of The Internet

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Mediation of Problematic Use in the Relationship Between Types of Internet Use and Subjective Well-Being in Schoolchildren

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.641178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Gonzalo Donoso ◽

Ferran Casas ◽

Andrés Rubio ◽

Cristian Céspedes

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Technology Use ◽

Internet Use ◽

Well Being ◽

Mediating Effect ◽

The Internet ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Problematic Use ◽

Use Of The Internet

Subjective well-being is a broad category of phenomena that includes people’s emotional responses, domain satisfactions, and global judgments of life satisfaction. This research investigates how schoolchildren’s subjective well-being is affected by the different types of technology use, in personal contexts, and, concurrently, whether these effects are different when the use of technology is problematic. The central hypotheses are as follows: (1) the use of the Internet affects the subjective well-being of schoolchildren negatively only when this use is problematic and (2) the effect on subjective well-being is different according to the type of Internet use. To respond to the objectives of the research, a survey was applied to 15-year-old adolescents (2,579 cases), distributed in 330 public schools, beneficiaries of a government program for the delivery of personal computers and Internet for a year. The different uses of the Internet were measured using frequency scales by type of activity (social, recreational, and educational). Problematic use scale measured the perception of negative consequences of the intensity of Internet use on a daily basis. Subjective well-being was measured by the Personal Well-Being Index-School Children (PWI-SC). Subsequently, for analytical purposes, three simple mediation models were created, whose dependent variable was PWI-SC, while its independent variables were Internet use scales differentiated by purpose (social, recreational, and educational) and problematic use as a mediating variable, as well as attributes of the subjects and their social environment, which were incorporated as control variables. The main results show that only if Internet use is expressed as problematic does it negatively affect subjective well-being. On the contrary, when the use of the Internet is not problematic, the effect is positive and even greater than the simple effect (without mediation) between these two variables. This finding is relevant, since it allows us to provide evidence that suggests that, when studying the effect that the intensity of the Internet, firstly, one must consider the mediating effect exerted by the network’s problematic use and, secondly, that not all types of use have the same impact. Therefore, it is useful to enrich the discussion on subjective well-being and social integration of schoolchildren in the digital age.

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