scholarly journals Digital Overuse and Addictive Traits and Their Relationship With Mental Well-Being and Socio-Demographic Factors: A National Population Survey for Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Bellis ◽  
Catherine A. Sharp ◽  
Karen Hughes ◽  
Alisha R. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mental Well Being

Introduction: Population health concerns have been raised about negative impacts from overuse of digital technologies. We examine patterns of online activity predictive of Digital Overuse and Addictive Traits (DOAT). We explore associations between DOAT and mental well-being and analyse how both relate to self-reported changes in self-esteem, perceived isolation, and anxiety about health when individuals use the internet for health purposes.Methods: A cross-sectional nationally representative household survey of adults using stratified random sampling (compliance 75.4%, n = 1,252). DOAT was measured using self-reported questions adapted from a social media addiction scale (failure to cut down use, restlessness when not using, and impact on job/studies and home/social life in the last year), combined into a single DOAT score. Higher DOAT score was defined as >1 standard deviation above population mean. The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was used to measure mental well-being. Analyses were limited to those with internet access (n = 1,003).Results: Negative impacts of digital technology use on work and home/social lives were reported by 7.4% of respondents. 21.2% had tried but failed to cut down use in the past year. Higher DOAT was associated with higher social media and internet use but also independently associated with greater risks of low mental well-being. Higher DOAT was associated with both improvement and worsening of self-esteem, perceived isolation and anxiety about health when using the internet for health reasons, with no change in these outcomes most likely in those with lower DOAT. Lower mental well-being was associated with a similar bi-directional impact on perceived isolation and was also associated with worsening self-esteem.Conclusions: Substantial proportions of individuals report negative impacts on home, social and working lives from digital technology use, with many trying but failing to cut down use. Individuals with higher DOAT may experience improvements or worsening in self-esteem and other measures of mental well-being when using the internet for health purposes. From a public health perspective, a greater understanding of risk factors for digital overuse, its impacts on well-being and how to reasonably limit use of technology are critical for a successful digital revolution.

How psychosocial well-being and usage amount predict inaccuracies in retrospective estimates of digital technology use

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig J. R. Sewall ◽  
Todd M. Bear ◽  
John Merranko ◽  
Daniel Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Actual Use

Using Apple’s Screen Time application to obtain reported actual iPhone and social media (SM) use, we examined the accuracy of retrospective estimates of usage, how inaccuracies bias associations between use and psychosocial well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 325 iPhone users, we found that (a) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 19.1 and 12.2 hours, respectively; (b) correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between reported actual use and well-being variables; and (c) the degree of inaccuracy in estimated use was associated with levels of participant well-being and amount of use. These findings suggest that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be systematically biased by factors that are fundamental to the associations under investigation. We propose that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be capturing the construct of perceived use rather than actual use, and discuss how the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of perceived use may be distinct from those of actual use. Implications of these findings are discussed in view of the ongoing debate surrounding the effects of digital technology use on well-being.

scholarly journals ПРАВОВАЯ РЕГЛАМЕНТАЦИЯ И ПРИОРИТЕТЫ РАЗВИТИЯ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО ЗАКОНОДАТЕЛЬСТВА РЕСПУБЛИКИ КАЗАХСТАН ПО ПРОТИВОДЕЙСТВИЮ НЕГАТИВНЫМ ИНФОРМАЦИОННЫМ ВОЗДЕЙСТВИЯМ НА НЕСОВЕРШЕННОЛЕТНИХ

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
В. В. Хасанова ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Networks ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Education ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mental Well Being

The article is devoted to the study of the existing legal framework for the protection of minors in the Republic of Kazakhstan from negative impacts in the information sphere, as well as the priority areas of development of national legislation in this area. Today, in the context of globalization, information and communication networks, including the Internet, are an important, and sometimes the only source of information for children. The pandemic of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 is a confirmation of this, when, against the background of the lack of real communication, children began to spend most of their time on the Internet. Education, leisure, and communication have all moved there. The role of information and communication networks in the life of modern man cannot be overestimated. At the same time, they can be a source of threats and risks to the health, development and mental well-being of children. It is established that the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan contains a number of normative legal acts aimed at ensuring the information protection of minors. However, the system of legal and organizational protection of children in the information sphere is currently at the stage of formation and does not provide a comprehensive response to modern, exponentially growing information challenges and threats. In order to eliminate this gap, it is proposed to develop a unified national strategy for the protection of children in the information environment, with its provisions fixed in the basic document.

Objectively measured digital technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among young adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Sewall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Objectively Measured

IntroductionResearch indicates that stressors introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted mental health, particularly among young people.1 Time spent on digital technology (e.g., social media, smartphones) has also increased2 as schools, workplaces, and social gathering sites have closed, thus intensifying pre-pandemic concerns regarding the putative effects of digital technology use (DTU) on mental health. Indeed, recent academic and newspaper articles have both directly and indirectly asserted that increased DTU is a source of the heightened psychological distress observed during the pandemic.3–5 However, these claims are dubious for two primary reasons. First, these articles rely on self-report measures of DTU, which are inaccurate6 and prone to systematic bias.7 Second, since the pandemic has impacted both mental health and DTU for many, the observed association between the two may be attributable to a shared common cause, rather than causality. Thus, we investigated the longitudinal associations between objectively measured DTU and mental health while accounting for important COVID-19-related effects.MethodsThis study was approved by the University of Pittsburgh and followed Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guidelines. In this four-wave panel study, participants were recruited from Prolific (https://www.prolific.co/), an online participant-recruitment platform. Waves of data collection were launched on August 14, September 12, October 14, and November 9 of 2020. Eligible participants were U.S. residents, 18-35 years old, iPhone users, and had ≥ 10 previous submissions on Prolific with approval rating ≥95%. At each wave, participants uploaded screenshots of their “Screen Time” application (which passively tracks device usage) and completed self-reports of mental health (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation [SI]), COVID-19-related stressors, and perceived COVID-19-related impact on well-being and DTU (Table 1). We extracted three elements from the “Screen Time” screenshots: (1) total screen time, (2) total time spent on social media, and (3) total number of pickups. We estimated separate random-intercept multilevel models for each mental health outcome using Mplus. Predictors were entered hierarchically in blocks (see eTable 3 in Supplement) to assess ΔR2 at the within- and between-person levels. See Supplement for methodological details. ResultsA total of 384 young adults participated in this study (Mage = 24.5, SDage = 5.1; 57% female; 54% white; 48% Bachelor’s degree education or above). Overall, participants averaged 47.5 hours of Screen Time, 677 pickups, and 15.5 hours of social media over the past week. On average, participants reported experiencing between 4 and 5 pandemic-related stressors per wave. Mean depression and anxiety t-scores were 54.6 and 56.7, respectively, and nearly 29% of participants reported past-week SI at least once. See eTable 1 for summary statistics of sample demographics and primary variables.Results of the multilevel analyses revealed that objectively-measured total screen time and social media use were unrelated to within- or between-person differences in mental health, while between-person difference in pickups was negatively associated with depression (see Figure 1). Together, the objective DTU variables explained, at most, 2.8% of the within- or between-person variance in any of the mental health outcomes (eTable 3 in Supplement). COVID-related impacts on well-being had the largest effects across models—accounting for about 45% and 10%, respectively, of the between- and within-person variance in depression and anxiety, and 21%/28% of the between/within variance in SI. DiscussionAmong a sample of young adults, a population with particularly high rates of DTU8 and COVID-19-related distress,1 we found that objectively-measured DTU did not contribute to increases in depression, anxiety, or SI—refuting the popular notion that increases in DTU may be contributing to young peoples’ psychological distress during the pandemic. Rather, depression, anxiety, and SI were driven mostly by young peoples’ reports of the pandemic’s impact on their well-being. The convenience-based sample, retrospective (past week) assessments of mental health outcomes, and single-item measures of COVID-19-related impacts are limitations of the study. Nevertheless, results indicate that current speculations about the direct harms of DTU on mental health may be unfounded and risk diverting attention from a more likely cause: pandemic-related stressors.

scholarly journals Psychosocial Outcomes and Digital Media Use in Transgender Youth: A Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Joyce Allen ◽  
Zoe Ellen Stratman ◽  
Bradley R. Kerr ◽  
Qianqian Zhao ◽  
Megan A. Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parent Support ◽  
Gender Groups

BACKGROUND Transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (TNG) youth encounter barriers to psychosocial wellness and also describe exploring identities and communities online. Studies of cisgender youth connect increased digital technology use with loneliness and decreased body image. However, little is known about psychosocial factors associated with digital technology use among TNG compared to cisgender youth. OBJECTIVE Our goal in this study was to examine associations between psychosocial measures and digital technology use for cisgender and TNG youth. METHODS We surveyed a nationally representative sample of adolescents (ages 13-18) about psychosocial wellness and digital technology use. Psychosocial measures included assessment of body image, parental support, loneliness, well-being, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Digital media use assessments included the short Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening Scale (PRIUSS-3) and the Adolescent Digital Technology Interactions and Importance (ADTI) scale and subscales. The psychosocial outcomes were compared between gender groups while adjusting for age and parent social media use using PROC GLM. Stratified correlations were compared between gender identity groups for parent support, body image, loneliness, well-being, and FOMO compared with ADTI and PRIUSS-3 scores using PROC NLMIXED to compare the regression coefficients of standardized values between gender groups. All comparisons were adjusted for age and parent social media use. RESULTS Among 4575 adolescents, 53 (1.16%) self-identified as TNG youth. TNG youth had lower well-being (23.52 versus 26.78, P<.001), lower parent support (19.57 versus 23.44, P<.001), lower body image (13.72 versus 17.09, P<.001), and higher loneliness scores (9.01 versus 6.59, P<.001) compared to cisgender peers. In a pattern different from cisgender peers, problematic internet use scores for TNG youth correlated positively with body image (0.26 vs. -0.17, P=.003) and well-being (0.33 vs. -0.08, P=.002). Parental support also correlated positively with ADTI 2 scores for TNG youth (0.05), though correlated negatively with ADTI 2 scores for cisgender youth (-0.22, P=.04). CONCLUSIONS Overall, this study supports previous findings that show that TNG youth experience barriers to psychosocial wellness, and adds that this includes loneliness. This study also suggests that the correlation of PIU with both well-being and improved body image shows that PIU may not be unilaterally problematic amongst TNG youth, which may be because of specific digital media affordances that TNG youth engage. Whether this more complicated picture of PIU applies to other minority populations besides TNG youth will be an important area for future research.

scholarly journals A Large-Scale Test of the Goldilocks Hypothesis

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. Przybylski ◽  
Netta Weinstein
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Quadratic Functions ◽  
Scale Test ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

Although the time adolescents spend with digital technologies has sparked widespread concerns that their use might be negatively associated with mental well-being, these potential deleterious influences have not been rigorously studied. Using a preregistered plan for analyzing data collected from a representative sample of English adolescents ( n = 120,115), we obtained evidence that the links between digital-screen time and mental well-being are described by quadratic functions. Further, our results showed that these links vary as a function of when digital technologies are used (i.e., weekday vs. weekend), suggesting that a full understanding of the impact of these recreational activities will require examining their functionality among other daily pursuits. Overall, the evidence indicated that moderate use of digital technology is not intrinsically harmful and may be advantageous in a connected world. The findings inform recommendations for limiting adolescents’ technology use and provide a template for conducting rigorous investigations into the relations between digital technology and children’s and adolescents’ health.

Digital technologies and their introduction to the economy and social life

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Andreevna Kiseleva
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Cultural Relations

The article demonstrates that the digital economy means economic, social, and cultural relations based on the digital technology use. The digital economy is often referred to as the Internet-based economy, due to the dramatic changes that digital computing and communication technologies brought to the economy in the second half of the 20th century.

scholarly journals Stand against anti-Asian racial discrimination during COVID-19: A call for action

2020 ◽  
pp. 002087282097061
Author(s):  
Qin Gao ◽  
Xiaofang Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Negative Impacts

Racial discrimination against people of Chinese and other Asian ethnicities has risen sharply in number and severity globally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This rise has been especially rapid and severe in the United States, fueled by xenophobic political rhetoric and racist language on social media. It has endangered the lives of many Asian Americans and is likely to have long-term negative impacts on the economic, social, physical, and psychological well-being of Asian Americans. This essay reviews the prevalence and consequences of anti-Asian racial discrimination during COVID-19 and calls for actions in practice, policy, and research to stand against it.

Internet Addiction Status and Related Factors among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Western Iran

2021 ◽  
pp. 0272684X2110254
Author(s):  
Habibolah Khazaie ◽  
Javad Yoosefi Lebni ◽  
Jaffar Abbas ◽  
Behzad Mahaki ◽  
Fakhreddin Chaboksavar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Standard Deviation Score ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Internet And Social Media

Background In recent years, Internet and social media technology use have emerged as an integral tool of human society, and the evolution of technological integration, cyberspace, and web-technology has become a common practice in educational institutions. Internet usage among students has played an indispensable role in learning behavior; however, the excessive usage of the internet and social media leads to internet addiction. This original study has performed a focalized scrutiny on revealing relationships between internet addiction and associated factors among the students of medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical departments. Methods This descriptive and analytical study recruited medical students from the Self-governing Education Incubator of Kermanshah. This survey distributed questionnaires among the respondents’ three departments, and this statistical data reported on 420 valid responses of the respondents. They represent first and second-semester medical students of the academic year 2017–2018. The study selected medical students by applying Cochran's Sample Size Formula through Stratified Random Sampling and cross-sectional research design. The survey has utilized a demographic questionnaire of Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) for the data collection. The study analyzed received data by using SPSS version 23 and performed the descriptive statistics, and analytical statistics (t-test and ANOVA). Results The results of the present study established that the majority of subjects were female students (53.3%), and the average age was 23.84 ± 2.14, including the students of all departments. Besides, findings specified that the overall mean and standard deviation scores were 3.34 and ±0.88. Internet addiction revealed mean and the standard deviation score measured for all students 3.29 ± 0.73, 3.17 ± 0.92, and 3.57 ± 0.64 correspondingly. The survey results illustrated that medical students’ internet addiction substantially correlated with demographic variables, such as age, marital status, the field of study, academic term, significant time of consuming the internet, the key reason of utilizing the internet, and daily usage of the internet ( p < .05). Conclusion The results of the study specified that 25% of medical students showed internet addiction. The students are increasingly using the internet, and it has penetrated among students. The design and implementation of adequate educational programs and the application of internet-based efficiency interventions are essential for both knowledge acquisition and medical students’ healthy behavior.

scholarly journals The Lifestyle of Saudi Medical Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7869
Author(s):  
Khalid A. Bin Abdulrahman ◽  
Ahmad M. Khalaf ◽  
Fahad B. Bin Abbas ◽  
Omran T. Alanezi
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Cross Sectional

This study was conducted to investigate medical students’ lifestyle habits, including sleep quality, eating and drinking patterns, physical activity, and social status. Method: This research project is part two of a multi-institutional cross-sectional observational study conducted among medical students from six medical colleges in Saudi Arabia between September and December 2019. Results: 675 medical students were enrolled electively into the lifestyle study. About half of this number were male students and the majority were aged 18–24 years. Most students (87.6%) slept between 4–8 h a day and over 44% were dissatisfied with their sleep. Only 28.1% had three meals a day; about 40% of them usually or always skipped breakfast. A total of 44% usually or always ate fast food and 44.7% drank 2 L of water per day. Moreover, male students were significantly consuming more fast food than females, p < 0.001. The majority (63.3%) revealed they usually or always drink black coffee daily. Females were significantly more inclined to regular coffee consumption than males, p < 0.001. Only 4.3% exercised for 30 min or more daily. The majority (65%) of the students were introverted; they had few close friends. Yet, 81% were somewhat satisfied or satisfied with their social life. Male students were significantly more satisfied with their social life than females, p = 0.001. Only 4.6% smoked cigarettes daily whereas 7.1% smoked e-cigarettes daily. In contrast, only 0.3% used shisha (hookah) daily. Male medical students were substantially more inclined to e-cigarette use than females (p < 0.001). The top five leisure activities of a medical student were surfing social media (75.9%), watching movies (61.3%), hanging out with friends (58.1%), spending time with their family (55.4%), and browsing the Internet (53.6%). Female medical students were significantly more inclined to surf social media than male medical students, p = 0.022; also, watching movies was preferred for females compared to males, p = 0.006. Conclusion: This study revealed that the majority of these medical students in Saudi Arabia exhibited healthy lifestyles to some extent, and these health-promoting behaviors differed based on sex, especially concerning physical activity and eating patterns. The findings of this study provide relevant information for future actions that will be geared towards effectively decreasing the occurrence of chronic illnesses and improving future doctors’ well-being.

Native Persons: An Assessment of their Relationship to the Dominant Culture and Challenges for Change

1982 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Power Loss ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Dominant Culture ◽  
Cultural Considerations ◽  
Community Power ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Effective Integration

The paper identifies and examines some of the economic, political, religious and social structures created by the dominant white culture and their effects on the mental well-being of the Cree and Ojibwa people residing in Northwestern Ontario. Two major clusters of problems are identified: (i) community power-loss and disenfranchisement and (ii) the establishment of norms which diminish the identity and self-esteem of native persons. Actions which deal with both kinds of power-loss are suggested. The range of goals for these activities include more effective integration, cross cultural considerations and native control over community and resource development. Important functions are identified for community psychologists in program and community assessment and development, public education and advocacy.

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