Internet use during COVID-19 lockdown among young people in low- and middle-income countries: Role of psychological wellbeing

Abstract

Problematic internet use in adolescents has been shown to significantly increase over the past few years, with COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns reinforcing this phenomena globally. We sought to explore whether problematic internet use in specific countries was related to emotional well-being and importantly whether this is predicted by psychological distress. There is a growing number of studies showing that problematic internet use is increasingly prevalent in countries with emerging economies, however we have yet to find out to what extent other factors are influencing this behaviour in adolescents and young people. This study invited young people from countries such India, Mexico, Philippines and Turkey to complete a set of self-reports on their daily internet habits, social media use, alongside questions on psychological distress, self-esteem, loneliness and escapism. A total of 1182 young people aged between 16 and 25 years old completed these questionnaires online. The results showed that there were significant difference in problematic internet use scores among adolescents in the Philippines and Turkey. More specifically, social media use was significantly higher amongst young people from the Philippines whereas gaming addiction was significantly high in the Turkish sample. These findings also revealed that psychological distress, loneliness, and low self-esteem consistently predicted problematic internet use. Taken together these results emphasise that there are several factors underlying growing figures of problematic internet use in young people, these factors include emotional distress, need for escapism, loneliness, and social media use, however, going forward more nuanced cultural differences should also be considered.

The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Youth Mental Health: A Narrative Review

“…These data are substantially consistent with those from a study conducted on 185 young adults, (mean age 21.59 years) from several countries [162] showing that an increase in young people of social media sites and streaming services use during the pandemic period resulted in compulsive internet use and gaming addiction that significantly predicted high scores of depression, loneliness, escapism, poor sleep quality, and anxiety related to the pandemic.…”

Psychosocial factors associated with mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic among low-income urban dwellers in Peninsular Malaysia

“…Compared to other local studies, anxiety levels were lower than the pandemic levels [ 28 , 59 , 60 ]. While mild to moderate anxiety levels were higher than those previously reported in international studies [ 61 – 63 ], they were also lower than those conducted in other countries during the pandemic [ 64 , 65 ]. Lower-income groups with higher financial strain respondents were more likely to experience mild to severe depression [ 28 ].…”

The Six-Item Version of the Internet Addiction Test: Its Development, Psychometric Properties, and Measurement Invariance among Women with Eating Disorders and Healthy School and University Students

“…Evident cultural differences were noted by considerable variations in IAT scores across countries. Internet use activities also varied, with higher use of social media in Philippines and increased gaming activities in Turkey [ 12 ]. It is not clear whether increased IA during COVID-19 is a functional and time-limited phenomenon or it is a trend toward elevated occurrence of IA [ 9 ].…”