“…Despite the widely reported positive and beneficial effects of both SNS and video games at many levels (e.g., cognitive functioning, well-being, etc.) (e.g., Chopik, 2016 ; Heo, Chun, Lee, Lee, & Kim, 2015 ; Howard, Wilding, & Guest, 2016 ; Stroud & Whitbourne, 2015 ), there is also mounting evidence from several nationwide representative empirical studies demonstrating that SNS and video games can contribute to psychosocial impairments and behavioral dysfunction in a minority of users, including young adolescents who may use these technologies excessively and unhealthily given their current developmental stage ( Andreassen, 2015 ; Bányai et al., 2017 ; Cock et al., 2014 ; Morioka et al., 2016 ; Pápay et al., 2013 ). More recently, Sioni, Burleson, and Bekerian ( 2017 ) conducted an empirical study in a sample of 595 MMORPG players from the United States and found that addictive video game play was positively associated with symptoms of social phobia even after controlling for the shared influence of weekly gaming hours, further illustrating that socially phobic individuals prefer online forms of social interactions ( Lee & Stapinski, 2012 ) as they provide users with the unique opportunity to satisfy their social connection needs, while simultaneously allowing them to leave social situations in which they feel uncomfortable (e.g., by logging out of the game).…”