Internet-Communication Disorder: It's a Matter of Social Aspects, Coping, and Internet-Use Expectancies

Abstract

Online communication applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter are some of the most frequently used Internet applications. There is a growing amount of individuals suffering diminished control over their use of online communication applications which leads to diverse negative consequences in offline life. This could be referred to as Internet-communication disorder (ICD). The current study investigates the role of individual characteristics (e.g., psychopathological symptoms, feelings of loneliness) and specific cognitions. In a sample of 485 participants a structural equation model was tested to investigate predictors and mediators which may predict an excessive use. The results emphasize that a higher level of social loneliness and less perceived social support enhance the risk of a pathological use. The effects of psychopathological symptoms (depression and social anxiety) as well as individual characteristics (self-esteem, self-efficacy, and stress vulnerability) on ICD symptoms are mediated by Internet-use expectancies and dysfunctional coping mechanisms. The results illustrate mediation effects which are in line with the theoretical model by Brand et al. (2016). As suggested in the model social aspects seem to be key predictors of ICD symptoms. Further research should investigate convergent and divergent factors of other types of specific Internet-use disorders.

A narrative Overview About Psychosocial Characteristics as Risk Factors of a Problematic Social Networks Use

“…Donnelly and Kuss [39] emphasized that time spent on social networks and an addictive use were associated with depressive symptoms. Interpersonal sensitivity was shown to predict symptoms of social networks use disorder, which could be explained by the desire to gratify feelings of social belongingness and social compensation [3,40,41]. Wegmann and Brand [3] additionally illustrated that the effect was mediated by the expectancies to avoid negative feelings or to experience pleasure.…”

“…Further empirical evidence supports that individuals with higher perceived loneliness are at a higher risk of developing a so-called social networks use disorder [3,9,34,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. However, especially social loneliness in contrast to emotional loneliness seems to be associated with higher symptom severity, since (emotional) loneliness is not consistently related to an addictive use [3,[53][54][55].…”

“…Besides the role of social loneliness, Wegmann and Brand [3] showed that less perceived social support also had a direct effect on the symptom severity of a social networks use disorder. The results by Brailovskaia et al [56] indicated that individuals perceiving high social support showed higher engagement in online social network activities and were at a higher risk to develop tendencies of a social networks use disorder.…”

“…Some of the most relevant smartphone applications are onlinecommunication applications such as instant messenger services, social networking sites, blogs, and microblogs, often summarized as online social networks. These applications allow users to be connected and to communicate with others, to entertain oneself, or to share information, pictures, and videos [2,3]. The use of these applications is often associated with positive effects on different domains such as subjective selfawareness, subjective well-being, the process of identity development as well as on communication skills, which is a result of positive interactions, perceived social support, and feelings of social connectedness [4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…The addictive use of online-communication applications or online social networks could be defined as "being overly concerned about social networking sites [or onlinecommunication applications], to be driven by a strong motivation to log on or to use social networking sites and to devote so much time and effort […] that it impairs other social activities, studies/job, interpersonal relationships and/or psychological health and well-being" [9, 12, p., 4045]. In the past, researchers used different terms to describe the potential addictive use of This article is part of the Topical Collection on Technology Addiction online social networks or online-communication applications, e.g., social networking addiction, problematic social networks use, Facebook addiction, or Internet-communication disorder as well as smartphone addiction or problematic mobile phone use [3,9,13]. All these terminologies focus on the addictive use of those applications, mainly emanates from the communicative exchange, the desire to stay connected, and the experienced loss of control due to the use, regardless of the device used.…”