Problematic Internet use (PIU) in youth: a brief literature review of selected topics

Kamolthip, Ruckwongpatr; Paratthakonkun, Chirawat; Ghavifekr, Simin; Gan, Wan Ying; Tung, Serene EH; Nurmala, Ira; Nadhiroh, Siti Rahayu; Pramukti, Iqbal; Lin, Chung‐Ying

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101150

Cited by 66 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Before the COVID-19 pandemic, addictive behaviors had been identified as an important factor affecting individuals’ health, such as sleep quality and quality of life [ 150 – 159 ]. Among the different types of addictive behaviors, internet addiction has been studied with growing interest because of technology advancement [ 160 ]. Moreover, the internet has been considered as a medium for individuals to engage in different activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

et al. 2022

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Purpose of Review The COVID-19 pandemic changed people’s lifestyles and such changed lifestyles included the potential of increasing addictive behaviors. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the prevalence of different behavioral addictions (i.e., internet addiction, smartphone addiction, gaming addiction, social media addiction, food addiction, exercise addiction, gambling addiction, and shopping addiction) both overall and separately. Recent Findings Four databases (PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge, and ProQuest) were searched. Peer-reviewed papers published in English between December 2019 and July 2022 were reviewed and analyzed. Search terms were selected using PECO-S criteria: population (no limitation in participants’ characteristics), exposure (COVID-19 pandemic), comparison (healthy populations), outcome (frequency or prevalence of behavioral addiction), and study design (observational study). A total of 94 studies with 237,657 participants from 40 different countries (mean age 25.02 years; 57.41% females). The overall prevalence of behavioral addiction irrespective of addiction type (after correcting for publication bias) was 11.1% (95% CI: 5.4 to 16.8%). The prevalence rates for each separate behavioral addiction (after correcting for publication bias) were 10.6% for internet addiction, 30.7% for smartphone addiction, 5.3% for gaming addiction, 15.1% for social media addiction, 21% for food addiction, 9.4% for sex addiction, 7% for exercise addiction, 7.2% for gambling addiction, and 7.2% for shopping addiction. In the lockdown periods, prevalence of food addiction, gaming addiction, and social media addiction was higher compared to non-lockdown periods. Smartphone and social media addiction was associated with methodological quality of studies (i.e., the higher the risk of boas, the higher the prevalence rate). Other associated factors of social media addiction were the percentage of female participants, mean age of participants, percentage of individuals using the internet in country, and developing status of country. The percentage of individuals in the population using the internet was associated with all the prevalence of behavioral addiction overall and the prevalence of sex addiction and gambling addiction. Gaming addiction prevalence was associated with data collection method (online vs. other methods) that is gaming addiction prevalence was much lower using online methods to collect the data. Summary Behavioral addictions appeared to be potential health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers and government authorities should foster some campaigns that assist people in coping with stress during COVID-19 pandemics to prevent them from developing behavioral addictions during COVID-19 and subsequent pandemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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“…Problematic internet use (PIU) as a generalized concept [ 9 ] encompasses various specific internet-related activities, as outlined above. It is described by criteria including: (1) experiencing unpleasant emotions when internet use is impossible, (2) continuing internet use despite the intention or desire to stop the use, (3) using the internet to ameliorate negative emotions, (4) internet use dominating one’s thoughts and behaviors and (5) internet use resulting in inter- or intra-personal conflicts [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies found cyberbullying to be related to PIU [ 33 ] as well as a link between fear of missing out (FoMO) and PIU [ 9 ]. FoMO, the urge to check one’s phone for new messages or updates and the concern of being left out and of missing out, appears to be one additional reason why adolescents are engaged in problematic internet use [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic Internet Use among Adolescents 18 Months after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2022

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Studies in recent years and especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown a significant increase in the problematic use of computer games and social media. Adolescents having difficulties in regulating their unpleasant emotions are especially prone to Problematic Internet Use (PIU), which is why emotion dysregulation has been considered a risk factor for PIU. The aim of the present study was to assess problematic internet use (PIU) in adolescents after the third wave (nearly 1.5 years after the onset in Europe) of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the German region of Siegen-Wittgenstein, all students 12 years and older from secondary-level schools, vocational schools and universities were offered a prioritized vaccination in August 2021 with an approved vaccine against COVID-19. In this context, the participants filled out the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (SCIUS) and two additional items to capture a possible change in digital media usage time and regulation of negative affect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of PIU. The original sample consisted of 1477 participants, and after excluding invalid cases the final sample size amounted to 1268 adolescents aged 12–17 (x = 14.37 years, SD = 1.64). The average prevalence of PIU was 43.69%. Gender, age, digital media usage time and the intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were all found to be significant predictors of PIU: female gender, increasing age, longer digital media usage time and higher intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with higher SCIUS total scores. This study found a very high prevalence of PIU among 12- to 17-year-olds for the period after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic prevalence rates. PIU is emerging as a serious problem among young people in the pandemic. Besides gender and age, pandemic-associated time of digital media use and emotion regulation have an impact on PIU, which provides starting points for preventive interventions.

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“…[12][13][14][15] Additionally, internet use has become a pervasive and timeconsuming behavior in recent years and increasing evidence shows that excessive internet use can jeopardize individuals' psychological health. [16][17][18][19] Because population health is a key element for healthy society development, it is important to understand the changes in healthy behaviors, population health, and associated factors for each society across time (eg, understanding the changes over the period of a decade). Based on these data, authorities and governments can design or modify policies to address health promotion for their citizens and improve the development of their society.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes of Health Outcomes, Healthy Behaviors, Generalized Trust, and Accessibility to Health Promotion Resources in Taiwan Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing 2011 and 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) Cohorts

Lin¹,

Lin²,

Fan³

et al. 2022

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The present study compared two nationally representative cohort datasets concerning Taiwan residents' healthy behaviors, subjective health outcomes, generalized trust, and accessibility to health promotion resources. Patients and Methods: The Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) was conducted in two waves ten years apart: 2011 cohort (n = 1021; 48.4% males) and 2021 cohort (n = 1425; 47.4%) cohorts. Descriptive statistics were calculated to compare the two TSCS datasets. Then, multiple regression models were constructed with health outcome as the dependent variable, and demographics and other key components as independent variables. Results: The 2011 TSCS cohort showed higher prevalence for cigarette smoking (30.8% vs 25.2%; p=0.002), alcohol drinking (52.5% vs 24.3%; p<0.001), exercise habits (52.7% vs 48.0%; p=0.02), and better fruit and vegetable accessibility (Mean=3.91 vs 3.82; p=0.04). The 2021 TSCS cohort reported higher body mass index (Mean=24.20 vs 23.63; p<0.001), less residency in urban areas (22.4% vs 31.1%; p<0.001), better jogging accessibility (4.14 vs 4.05; p=0.006), higher generalized trust (2.26 vs 2.17; p=0.001), and greater internet usage (3.43 vs 2.89; p<0.001). The regression model showed that exercise habits (standardized coefficient=0.20 and 0.10; p<0.001) and generalized trust (standardized coefficient=0.11 and 0.11; p=0.004 and <0.001) were consistently associated with health outcomes in both cohorts. Additionally, internet use (standardized coefficient=−0.07; p=0.026) and alcohol drinking behaviors (standardized coefficient=−0.07; p=0.0022) were negatively associated with health outcomes in the 2021 cohort. Conclusion:The present study demonstrated the trends and changes over 10 years regarding multiple health-related components among Taiwan residents. The study's findings provide insight into education promotion programs to reduce unhealthy behaviors as well as enhancing generalized trust building and developing healthy behaviors for Taiwan residents.

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Problematic Internet use (PIU) in youth: a brief literature review of selected topics

Cited by 66 publications

References 63 publications

Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Estimation of Behavioral Addiction Prevalence During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Problematic Internet Use among Adolescents 18 Months after the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Changes of Health Outcomes, Healthy Behaviors, Generalized Trust, and Accessibility to Health Promotion Resources in Taiwan Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing 2011 and 2021 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) Cohorts

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