Latent Profile of Internet and Internet Game Usage Among South Korean Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, more people are spending time on the Internet and gaming since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Consequently, concerns about developing behavioral addiction of adolescents have been raised. Such risk could be greater for adolescents in South Korea where the majority of adolescents have access to the Internet and own a smartphone. In fact, statistics indicate that Korean youths are spending significantly more time on the Internet and gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies on the patterns of time spent on the Internet and Internet gaming show inconsistent results. The aim of this study is to investigate the latent profiles of the Internet and Internet game usage among adolescents in South Korea.Method: Data from a national survey on elementary and middle school students across South Korea were used. The sample consists of 3,149 respondents, and 2,984 responses were analyzed after removing missing responses. Latent profile analysis was performed to investigate the number of latent profiles for the Internet and Internet game usage time. To validate the profiles, differences in problematic gaming behavior, sex, and neuroticism were examined.Results: Seven profiles were found: Casual User, Moderate User, Smartphone User, Internet User, PC Internet Gamer, Heavy User, and Excessive User. Validation of the profiles indicated differences in problematic gaming behavior, sex, and neuroticism among selected profiles.Conclusion: This study presented different profiles of the Internet and Internet game usage among adolescents in South Korea. Profiles with higher game usage time scored higher in problematic game use compared to other profiles. Males were more likely to be in the profiles with high gaming time, and females were more likely to be in Internet and Smartphone User profiles. The results indicate that Internet and Internet gaming usage patterns could be classified by the type of device used and the content of the Internet.

A systematic review of the impact of COVID-19 on the game addiction of children and adolescents

“…The impact of COVID-19 on gaming disorder was examined in two aspects: whether game usage time increased and whether game addiction (e.g., IGD) scores measured on a game addiction scale increased during COVID-19. Several studies found increased game usage time and increased levels of game addiction ( 42 , 47 , 48 , 56 ). Among 18 articles, seven presented prevalence estimates of game addiction using scales, and three additional articles presented specific gaming hours.…”

“…Regarding gender, males reported longer game usage time (44,45,47,48,51,56) and higher scores of game addiction than females (45,47,48,51,56). As loneliness played a significant role as a mediator (56) in females with higher scores of game addiction and increased scores of game addiction were reported in those who excessively used smartphones, the mechanism of using games might be different based on gender.…”

The Effects of Playing Video Games on Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, and Gaming Disorder During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: PRISMA Systematic Review

“…Nine studies reported the prevalence of GD during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic as follows: 11 percent among Vietnamese adolescents, 81 19 percent among Italian children and adolescents, 82 5.3 percent among Chinese children and adolescents, 83 16.6 percent among Spanish university students, 84 2.5 percent among medical students in Malaysia, 85 4.1 percent among Japanese middle-aged adults (8.5 percent among younger than 30), 77 15 percent among Chinese adolescents, 86 8.5 percent in college students from Nepal, 87 and 4.5 percent among Malaysian university students. 88 The 11 studies conducted on children and adolescent GD were associated with: age (i.e., being adolescent), 79,82,89 gender (i.e., being male), [82][83][84]86,[89][90][91][92] maladaptive coping regulatory styles, 86 poor social support, 83,86,89 depressive and anxiety symptoms before the COVID-19 pandemic, 76,92 poor mental health, 83 academic stress, 86 unhealthy parental care styles, [81][82][83] addictive gamer profile, 90,91 and excessive use of social networks. 84 With regard to adults, eight studies showed an increased risk of developing GD symptoms in association with age (i.e., being younger than 30 years), 77,79 gender (i.e., being male), 79,87 loneliness, 79,93 maladaptive self-regulation style,…”

“…Concerning the nationality, the majority of the studies recruited participants who were residents on the European continent, especially Italy 54,82,95 and the United Kingdom, 18,79,80 North America (i.e., the United States), 17,20,[78][79][80] and Asia. 15,83,85,86,[90][91][92] Most of the studies (n = 11) recruited young adults (i.e., 18-35 years), 5 studies children (i.e., younger than 12 years old), 10 studies adolescents (i.e., 12-18 years old), 5 studies middle-aged adults (i.e., 36-55 years old), while no studies recruited older adults (i.e., up to 55 years old).…”

Faktor Karakteristik sebagai Prediktor Adiksi Game Online pada Remaja

“…Studi ini menunjukkan ukuran prevalensi gamer yang adiksi sebesar 1,2 persen (André et al, 2021). Di Korea Selatan persentase yang signifikan dari remaja ini melaporkan bahwa waktu mereka dihabiskan untuk game PC (45,5%) dan game seluler (56,6%) meningkat setelah wabah COVID-19 (Kim et al, 2021). Proporsi remaja yang adiksi video game adalah 16% (Saquib et al, 2017).…”