Flow on the Internet: a longitudinal study of Internet addiction symptoms during adolescence

Abstract

Internet Addiction (IA) constitutes an excessive internet use behavior with significant impact on the user's wellbeing. Online flow describes the users' level of being absorbed by their online activity. The present study investigated age-related, gender, and flow effects on IA in adolescence. The sample comprised 648 adolescents who were assessed twice at age 16 and 18 years. IA was assessed using the Internet Addiction Test and online flow was assessed using the Online Flow Questionnaire. A three-level hierarchical model estimated age-related, gender, and online flow effects on IA symptoms and controlled for clustered random effects.IA symptoms decreased over time (for both genders) with a slower rate in males. Online flow was associated with IA symptoms and this remained consistent over time. Findings expand upon the available literature suggesting that IA symptoms could function as a developmentrelated manifestation at the age of 16 years, while IA-related gender differences gradually increase between 16 and 18 years. Finally, the association between online flow and IA symptoms remained stable independent of age-related effects. The study highlights individual differences and provides directions for more targeted prevention and intervention initiatives for IA.

Depression and Disordered Gaming: Does Culture Matter?

“…In this context, gamers experiencing symptoms of depression, who might be more vertically individualistically orientated may find themselves at a significantly greater risk of developing symptoms of DG. This finding supports a significant body of literature advocating the influence of cultural orientation on the associations between psychopathologies and addictive behaviors in general, and in particular DG (Singelis et al, 1995;Györkös et al, 2013;Winkler et al, 2013;Taymur et al, 2016;Stavropoulos, Anderson et al, 2017;Stavropoulos et al, 2018c). More specifically, employing the integrative internet abuse framework, suggested by Stavropoulos et al (2016), a more vertically individualistic orientation may foster and host achievement, competition, and ranking drives that when matched by mechanisms of the game could render the gamer more vulnerable to DG (Singelis et al, 1995;Györkös et al, 2013;Stavropoulos et al, 2018b).…”

“…Conversely, research has suggested that excessive internet gaming behavior places gamers at higher risk for real-life dysfunction (e.g., the loss of one's job) that would in turn precipitate and/or perpetuate symptoms of depression (Griffiths, Kuss & Pontes, 2016;Adams et al, 2018;Stavropoulos et al, 2018c). These interactions advocate bi-directional and cyclical associations, whereby symptoms of depression and DG can not only initiate and maintain one another but may also occur concurrently to exacerbate one another's severity (Stavropoulos, Kuss, Griffiths & Motti-Stefanidi, 2016;Liu et al, 2018).…”

How compulsive use of social media affects performance: insights from the UK by purpose of use

“…The far-reaching implications of social media compulsive use has r increasingly attratcted attention from various researchers and scholars (LaRose et al, 2011;Meerkerk, Eijnden, & Garretsen, 2006;Meerkerk, Van Den Eijnden, Vermulst, & Garretsen, 2009;Wallace, 2014, Kumar, Kumar, & Bhasker, 2018. Further, as past research has cited more negative impacts of both technology and social media use on specific populations (Stavropoulos et al, 2018), social media compulsive use research has increasingly focused on students (Bernoff & Schadler, 2010;Dahlstrom, 2012;Jacobsen & Forste, 2011;LaRose, et al, 2011). For example, in their research of social media use by students, LaRose, et al (2011) concluded that compulsive use of web applications has negative academic, personal, and professional consequences, with compulsive use potentially resulting in diminished self-regulation, loss of self-control, and increased dysphoria.…”

“…Further, past research (e.g. Stavropoulos et al, 2018) has reported varied negative outcomes of social media compulsive use, particularly for those that are unable to limit the amount of time in which they interact with social media applications. Compulsive use can be identified through behaviours such as restlessness, preoccupation with social media, moodiness, and depression, and can negatively impact personal, professional, and educational interactions, relationships, and performance (Mazer & Ledbetter, 2012).…”

“…When compared to other European countries, such as Belgium and Romania, UK users show an increasing level of excessive Internet use, owed somewhat to smart device proliferation (Škařupová, Ólafsson, &, Blinka, 2016). While the use of the Internet and social media has significant positive impacts, such early use has been seen in a largely negative context over the years (Stavropoulos et al, 2018). However, a recent report in Britain by the EduPolicy Institute on the mental health of children and Internet use in the UK has highlighted that younger users value social networks as a way of connecting with friends and family, maintaining their networks of friends over time and long-distance connections.…”