INTRAPERSONAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS FOR PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE AMONG STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: During the lockdown due to COVID-19, Internet use may become more frequent in students, with possible negative consequences on mental health. In this emergency situation, variables such as depression, anxiety and external locus of control could be related to a Problematic Internet Use; on the other hand, self-esteem, internal locus of control, self-efficacy, and social support can play the role of protective factors for Problematic Internet Use. The present survey aims to verify the impact of these intrapersonal and social factors on Problematic Internet Use in college and High School students during the COVID-19 pandemic through a web-based cross-sectional study. Subjects and methods: 191 students from Lombardy, one of the Italian Regions among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, were included in the study. An online questionnaire has been administered during the first Italian period of forced lockdown. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess intrapersonal and social factors as predictors of Problematic Internet Use. Results: Analysis highlighted a higher risk of Problematic Internet Use (5.77 times more) in males compared to females. Individuals with high external locus of control and severe depression have respectively 6.56 and 2.84 times more the risk of presenting Problematic Internet Use. In contrast, social support, self-efficacy, and self-esteem were negatively related to Problematic Internet Use. In total sample, the percentage of Problematic Internet Use was high (55.5%). Conclusions: An increasing use of the Internet has been observed during lockdown, leading to a progressive increase in the diffusion of Problematic Internet Use. Gender, depression and external locus of control emerge as risk factors for Problematic Internet Use, while social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem represent protective factors. The current research identifies some intrapersonal and social factors in an epidemic context for which the development of effective behavioural, supportive and/or educational interventions would be appropriate

INTRAPERSONAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS FOR PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE AMONG STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Background: During the lockdown due to COVID-19, Internet use may become more frequent in students, with possible negative consequences on mental health. In this emergency situation, variables such as depression, anxiety and external locus of control could be related to a Problematic Internet Use; on the other hand, self-esteem, internal locus of control, self-efficacy, and social support can play the role of protective factors for Problematic Internet Use. The present survey aims to verify the impact of these intrapersonal and social factors on Problematic Internet Use in college and High School students during the COVID-19 pandemic through a web-based cross-sectional study. Subjects and methods: 191 students from Lombardy, one of the Italian Regions among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, were included in the study. An online questionnaire has been administered during the first Italian period of forced lockdown. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess intrapersonal and social factors as predictors of Problematic Internet Use. Results: Analysis highlighted a higher risk of Problematic Internet Use (5.77 times more) in males compared to females. Individuals with high external locus of control and severe depression have respectively 6.56 and 2.84 times more the risk of presenting Problematic Internet Use. In contrast, social support, self-efficacy, and self-esteem were negatively related to Problematic Internet Use. In total sample, the percentage of Problematic Internet Use was high (55.5%). Conclusions: An increasing use of the Internet has been observed during lockdown, leading to a progressive increase in the diffusion of Problematic Internet Use. Gender, depression and external locus of control emerge as risk factors for Problematic Internet Use, while social support, self-efficacy and self-esteem represent protective factors. The current research identifies some intrapersonal and social factors in an epidemic context for which the development of effective behavioural, supportive and/or educational interventions would be appropriate

Server connection versus marital disconnection: an investigation of the effect of internet addiction on couple burnout in Iran

The internet has become ubiquitous in many people's lives to an extent that necessitates the investigation of its impact on marital relationships. There has been a lack of such studies in the Iranian context and the present study investigated the relationship between internet addiction and couple burnout. A total of 377 married individuals participated in an online survey comprising demographic information, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and the Couple Burnout Measure (CBM). Partial least squares –structure equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess the relationships in the proposed research model. Structural equation modelling showed a significant effect of sub-components of internet addiction (lack of control; social withdrawal and emotional conflict; time management problems; and concealing problematic behavior) on emotional burnout. In addition, lack of control and time management problems showed significant and positive effect on somatic burnout. However, the relationships between internet addiction components and psychological burnout were not demonstrated as hypothesized. Given the explained relationships between factors comprising internet addiction and couple burnout, couple therapists need to be made more aware of the risks of internet overuse upon marital relationships and to encourage couples to optimize the internet use to prevent negative outcomes (in particular emotional burnout) among couples

Worrying impact of artificial intelligence and big data through the prism of recommender systems

Transfer from social to semantic web brought us to an era of algorithmic society, placing issues such as privacy, big data and AI in the spotlight. although neutral by their nature, the power of big data algorithms to impact societies became major concern outcoming with fines issued to Facebook in the US. These events were initiated by alleged breaches of data privacy connected to recommender system technology, which can provide individualized content to internet users. This paper seeks to explain recommender systems, while elaborating on their social effects, to conclude that their overall impacts might be increase in retail sales, democratization of advertising, increase in internet addictions, social polarization (echo chamber issue), and improvement of political communication. Also, more research should be deployed into low intensity addictions, as potential outcome of recommender systems, and it should be explored how they affect political participation and democracy

Country indicators moderating the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress: A study in 20 countries

© 2021 The Authors. Published by Frontiers Media. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.588174Problematic mobile phone use can be related to negative mental states. Some studies indicate that behavioural dependency is related to variables associated with the country of origin. The aim of our study was to investigate if country indicators moderated the relationship between phubbing and psychological distress. Our sample consisted of 7,315 individuals from 20 countries, who completed the Phubbing Scale and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6). The analyses also included country indicators: the Gender Gap Index (GGI), the Human Development Index (HDI), the Social Progress Index (SPI), Hofstede’s dimensions of culture, and the World Happiness Index (WHI). Our results showed that psychological distress was related to at least one dimension of phubbing (i.e., to communication disturbance or phone obsession) in all countries, which means this relationship is culturally universal. The results of the study demonstrate the importance of testing measurement invariance to determine what type of analysis and what type of conclusion are valid in a given study or comparison. Moreover, the increasing or decreasing correlation between phubbing and distress is related to some culture-level indices.This study was financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no. NCN UMO-2017/26/M/HS6/00779. In Brazil, the data collection was partly funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) under the grant number 424802/2016-3.Published onlin

Análisis psicométrico del Test de Adicción a Internet en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes de la provincia de Piura, 2022

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las evidencias psicométricas del Test de Adicción a Internet en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes de la provincia de Piura, 2022. La muestra estuvo conformada por 1063 personas de 10 a 34 años de 13 colegios y 3 Universidades de los 10 distritos de la provincia de Piura. Previo a la toma del test en la muestra final se realizó el criterio de jueces y la prueba piloto donde se modificaron algunos ítems. Los resultados de la muestra final nos indican que el test tiene una adecuada confiabilidad interna (Alfa de Cronbach= .903). Todas las dimensiones tienen correlación positiva y fuerte con el total. El análisis factorial nos reagrupó los ítems en 6 dimensiones, pero con la ubicación de los ítems de forma distinta a la versión original del test, obteniendo en las nuevas dimensiones 1 y 5 valores no válidos. Y por último, los baremos percentiles obtenidos fueron: 1 a 29 (bajo), 30 a 39 (medio bajo), 40 a 60 (medio), 70 a 79 (medio alto), 80 a 100 (alto)

Young users' social media addiction: causes, consequences and preventions

Purpose Social media addiction has been an ongoing topic of debate for platform developers, well-being and mental health experts. There is a limited understanding of the factors leading to the addiction of young social media users, the consequences of experiencing addiction, and the measures/mechanisms used by parents and platform providers to limit/prevent problematic social media use amongst young users. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature concerning these issues. Design/methodology/approach The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) protocol was used to evaluate and present the results. A total of 45 studies were screened and independently reviewed against predetermined criteria for eligibility. Findings The results revealed four categories of young users' addiction to social media networks (social, technological, behavioural and mental). Several prevention approaches directed at parents and platform providers were discussed. Originality/value This study offers important insights for health policy makers, platform providers, parents and researchers on designing interventions addressing social media addiction amongst young users. It also provides an in-depth understanding of the conceptualization of social media addiction and suggestions on possible actions to prevent it

Utilização da Internet e regulação emocional : um estudo com estudantes universitários portugueses

Exame público realizado em 14 de novembro de 2023, às 15HDissertação de mestrado em Psicologia ClínicaObjetivo: As dificuldades na regulacao emocional sao uma caracteristica potencialmente comum a diferentes adicoes. A maioria dos estudos avalia a prevalencia da adicao a internet e possiveis variaveis relacionadas em amostras de adolescentes. Estudos dirigidos a jovens adultos sao mais limitados. Os/As estudantes universitarios/as sao uma populacao na qual o aumento do consumo da internet e habitual e necessario, sendo suscetiveis a adicao a internet. Portanto, o principal objetivo deste estudo e averiguar se existe uma relacao significativa entre a utilizacao da internet e as dificuldades na regulacao emocional em jovens adultos/as estudantes universitarios/as portugueses/as. Método: O presente estudo caracteriza-se por ser quantitativo-correlacional e transversal. Participaram 234 estudantes universitarios/as com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 33 anos (M= 21.69, SD= 3.04). Os dados foram recolhidos online atraves da tecnica de amostragem “bola de neve”. Para responder ao principal objetivo foi calculado o Coeficiente de Correlacao de Spearman. Resultados: Mais de metade dos/as participantes (82.5%, n= 193) demonstram apresentar adicao a internet. Existe uma correlacao positiva estatisticamente significativa entre a utilizacao da internet e as dificuldades na regulacao emocional. Conclusão: A presenca de dificuldades na regulacao emocional pode ser conceptualizada como um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de adicao a internet. A adicao a internet parece representar uma estrategia de coping disfuncional para compensar as dificuldades na regulacao emocional. Esta investigacao revela a necessidade de se promover o desenvolvimento de estrategias para dotar os/as estudantes de competencias de regulacao emocional e para os/as auxiliar a regular a utilizacao da internet.Purpose: Difficulties in emotional regulation are a potentially common feature of different addictions. Most studies assess the prevalence of internet addiction and possible related variables in adolescent samples. Studies aimed at young adults are more limited. University students are a population in which increased internet consumption is habitual and necessary, and are susceptible to internet addiction. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between internet use and difficulties in emotional regulation in young adult portuguese university students. Method: The present study is characterized by being quantitative-correlational and cross-sectional. A total of 234 university students aged between 18 and 33 (M= 21.69, SD= 3.04) participated in this study. Data was collected online using the "snowball" sampling technique. To answer the main objective, Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated. Results: More than half of the participants (82.5%, n= 193) demonstrated internet addiction. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between internet use and difficulties in emotional regulation. Conclusion: The presence of difficulties in emotional regulation can be conceptualized as a risk factor for the development of internet addiction. Internet addiction seems to represent a dysfunctional coping strategy to compensate for difficulties in emotional regulation. This research reveals the need to promote the development of strategies to equip students with emotional regulation skills and to help them regulate their use of the internet

HUBUNGAN KECENDERUNGAN ADIKSI MEDIA SOSIAL DENGAN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- BEING PADA MAHASISWA YANG MENGERJAKAN SKRIPSI

HUBUNGAN KECENDERUNGAN ADIKSI MEDIA SOSIAL DENGAN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL- BEING PADA MAHASISWA YANG MENGERJAKAN SKRIPSI Oleh: Dolly Citra Pratiwi Fakultas Psikologi Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau Email: [email protected] Abstrak Tantangan yang dihadapi mahasiswa semester akhir semakin kompleks dan spesifik dibandingkan dengan masalah yang dihadapi pada saat masa kuliah sebelumnya. Salah satu tantangan yang dihadapi oleh para mahasiswa ialah rendahnya psychological well-being dikarenakan kecenderungan adiksi terhadap media sosial. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kecenderungan adiksi media sosial dengan psychological well-being pada 143 mahasiswa yang mengerjakan skripsi, yang dipilih dengan teknik sampling Purposive Sampling. Pengukuran dilakukan menggunakan alat ukur (Psychological Well-Being Scale) yang dikembangkan oleh Ryff dengan reliabilitas α= 0.806 dan (Social Media Addiction Tendencies Scale) yang dikembangkan oleh Tutgun dan Deniz dengan reliabilitas α= 0,965. Hasil analisis Pearson Product Moment menunjukkan hubungan negatif yang signifikan (r = -0,227, p =0,006) antara kecenderungan adiksi media sosial dan kesejahteraan psikologis pada mahasiswa yang sedang mengerjakan skripsi. Artinya, semakin tinggi tingkat kecenderungan adiksi media sosial, semakin rendah tingkat kesejahteraan psikologis pada mahasiswa tersebut. Analisis juga mengungkapkan bahwa tingkat kesejahteraan psikologis secara keseluruhan cenderung rendah, sementara tingkat kecenderungan adiksi media sosial cenderung sedang. Aspek yang paling berpengaruh dalam hubungan ini adalah modifikasi mood dan konflik. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa kecenderungan adiksi media sosial dapat berdampak negatif pada kesejahteraan psikologis mahasiswa yang sedang mengerjakan skripsi. Kata kunci: kecenderungan adiksi media sosial, psychological well-being, mahasisw