Clinical psychology of Internet addiction: a review of its conceptualization, prevalence, neuronal processes, and implications for treatment

Research into Internet addiction (IA) has grown rapidly over the last decade. The topic has generated a great deal of debate, particularly in relation to how IA can be defined conceptually as well as the many methodological limitations. The present review aims to further elaborate and clarify issues that are relevant to IA research in a number of areas including: definition and characterization, incidence and prevalence rates, associated neuronal processes, and implications for treatment, prevention, and patient-specific considerations. It is concluded that there is no consensual definition for IA. Prevalence rates among nationally representative samples across several countries vary greatly (from 1% to 18.7%), most likely reflecting the lack of methodological consistency and conceptual rigor of the studies. The overlaps between IA and other more traditional substance-based addictions and the possible neural substrates implicated in IA are also highlighted. In terms of treatment and prevention, both psychological and pharmacological treatments are examined in light of existing evidence alongside particular aspects inherent to the patient perspective. Based on the evidence analyzed, it is concluded that IA may pose a serious health hazard to a minority of people

Revealing the Relationship between Smartphone Addiction and Academic Performance of Students: Evidences from Higher Educational Institutes of Pakistan

In this world of technology, smart phone has become a vital part in everyone’s life. This study aims to focus on the relationship between smartphone addiction and academic performance of students in higher education. Variables such as use of social networking sites, overuse of smart phone and Academic Performance (Grade Point Average and Time Management skills) were part of this research. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 360 students of two private universities in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The target age group was 19-24 studying in Bachelors degree program. Data was analyzed through SPSS. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression tests were applied. Results reveal that there is a negative relationship between smartphone addiction and academic performance. Moreover, it has been proved that students with good time management skills achieve high grades/GPAs than those who have poor time management skills due to involvement in different social networks (media) such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram etc. It is suggested that students should spend their time wisely and use their smartphones for educational purposes. However, students need training, counseling and close monitoring to get benefits through smartphones’ use

The Effects of Mobile Games on Elementary School Students' Achievement in Aceh

Research into mobile game addiction has increased over the previous two decades. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between on-line mobile gaming and academic performances among adolescent students in Aceh's elementary schools. The study revealed that boys are more of a player compared to girls who often play games and those who play online games are around 11-12 years old have an average playing time 3-5 hours/day. The research population consisted of elementary students from Aceh, with a sample size of 55 pupils. Included in the study was the Game Addiction Scale (Lemmens et al., 2009). Then, using regression analysis, the hypothesis was tested. From the finding, we can conclude that academic performance was found to be negatively associated with online gaming. This is owing to the fact that playing games for long periods of time reduces their ability to focus on academic tasks. This study can serve as a reference to adolescents online gaming habits, which could be a factor affecting their academic achievement

The Double-edged Sword: A Mixed Methods Study of the Interplay between Bipolar Disorder and Technology Use

Human behavior is increasingly reflected or acted out through technology. This is of particular salience when it comes to changes in behavior associated with serious mental illnesses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Early detection is crucial for these conditions but presently very challenging to achieve. Potentially, characteristics of these conditions\u27 traits and symptoms, at both idiosyncratic and collective levels, may be detectable through technology use patterns. In bipolar disorder specifically, initial evidence associates changes in mood with changes in technology-mediated communication patterns. However much less is known about how people with bipolar disorder use technology more generally in their lives, how they view their technology use in relation to their illness, and, perhaps most crucially, the causal relationship (if any exists) between their technology use and their disease. To address these uncertainties, we conducted a survey of people with bipolar disorder (N = 84). Our results indicate that technology use varies markedly with changes in mood and that technology use broadly may have potential as an early warning signal of mood episodes. We also find that technology for many of these participants is a double-edged sword: acting as both a culprit that can trigger or exacerbate symptoms as well as a support mechanism for recovery. These findings have implications for the design of both early warning systems and technology-mediated interventions

Negative and positive impact of internet addiction on young adults: empericial study in Malaysia

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the impact of Internet addictions on young adults in Malaysia. There are six impacts identified, of which five are negative impacts and one is a positive impact. Design/methodology/approach: This study comprised a sample of 200 young adults in Malaysia. A cross-sectional research design was used to examine the impact of Internet addiction. Data were gathered based on personal administered questionnaires. Findings: Mann-Whitney U test results show that the adults those are using Internet excessively were having some problems such as interpersonal problem, behavioural problem, physical problem, psychological problem, and work problem in their daily life. The young adults believed that the Internet usage can help them to improve their skills for doing their work better. This study also reveals that males were likely having working problems, psychological problems, behavioural problems and interpersonal problems than female. On the other hand, females were having their physical problems while using Internet excessively. Research limitations/implications: The data for this study are collected by self-administered questionnaires, a method with well-known shortcomings. Secondly, the sample size itself is relatively small. This study can be strengthened by increasing the sample size and including participants in other geographical areas in Malaysia. Practical implications: The present study reveals five negative impacts i.e. interpersonal problem, behavioural problem, physical problem, psychological problem, and work problem for excessive Internet usage. Government agencies like Health department of Malaysia and other government agencies should create better awareness of the problem having while using Internet. It can be done by having seminars or introduction sessions at all universities in Malaysia. Originality/value: The findings are original and unique and are based on the literature from different western researches. The results are based on a sample of young adults in Malaysia. The research findings are useful to academics and heavy Internet users who are hooked with Internet to their everyday lifePeer Reviewe

Unraveling the Effects of Mobile Application Usage on Users’ Health Status: Insights from Conservation of Resources Theory

Numerous studies have documented adverse consequences arising from increased technology usage and advocated for a reduction in such usage as a plausible remedy. However, such recommendations are often infeasible and oversimplistic given mounting evidence attesting to users’ growing reliance on technology in both their personal and professional lives. Building on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we construct a research model to explain how mobile application usage, as delineated by its breadth and depth, affects users’ nomophobia and sleep deprivation, which can have negative impacts on users’ health status. We also consider the moderating influence of physical activity in mitigating the effects of mobile application usage on users’ health. We validated our hypotheses via data collected by surveying 5,842 respondents. Empirical findings reveal that (1) nomophobia is positively influenced by mobile application usage breadth but negatively influenced by mobile application usage depth, (2) sleep deprivation is negatively influenced by mobile application usage breadth but positively influenced by mobile application usage depth, and (3) sleep deprivation and nomophobia negatively impact users’ health status, whereas (4) physical activity attenuates the impact of mobile application usage on sleep deprivation but not nomophobia. The findings from this study not only enrich the extant literature on the health outcomes of mobile application usage by unveiling the impact of mobile application usage patterns and physical activity on users’ health but they also inform practitioners on how calibrating usage breadth and depth, along with encouraging physical activity, can promote healthy habits among users

THE EFFECT OF INTERNET ON STUDENTS STUDIES: A REVIEW

This paper is a literature review on effects of internet use on students’ academic performance. Assessing to factors that affect students’ use of the internet is the main objective of this research. The paper additionally aims to find out the various activities that students use the internet to do and assess the various technologies students use to access the internet. Several articles were reviewed by the researcher. Articles reviewed were all on factors influencing students’ use of the internet. Out of the twelve articles, nine of them looked at the functions of the internet of students activities whiles fourteen articles was also based on the technology students use to access the internet. The inclusion criteria focused only articles relating tertiary education. The internet has a vital impact on student academic outcomes as it helps students to access journals and articles which otherwise are not made available in the libraries. The study concluded that increase in internet use was very useful in the improvement of the learning outcomes. The study also found the negative impacts of internet use which leads to distraction as time is spent on social media instead on studies. Therefore, it is proposed that University authorities should provide guidelines to help students overcome some of the challenges faced when using the internet

Unveiling the dark side in smartphone addiction: mediation of strain and moderation of hedonic use on well-being

Purpose The research purpose is to investigate the mediating and moderating relationships between smartphone addiction and well-being (i.e. health-related quality of life). Design/methodology/approach A survey of 236 smartphone users was used to test the research model. Findings The structural equation modeling analysis results show that smartphone addiction negatively impacts well-being by draining a key personal resource, energy, thus creating strain. The adverse effect of smartphone addiction on users\u27 well-being is found to be more intense when smartphones are used for hedonic purposes. Research limitations/implications Through the conservation of resources theory lens, this study increases our understanding of the role of strain in mediating the negative effect of smartphone addiction on well-being. This study also has practical implications. By exploring the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying when and how smartphone addiction can be detrimental to well-being, interventions can be carried out to mitigate the adverse effects on well-being. Originality/value Past research has focused on the antecedents and consequences of smartphone addiction while ignoring the contextual factors of smartphone addiction effects as well as the intervening mechanism through which smartphone addiction impacts well-being. Through the lens of the conservation of resources theory, we close this gap in the literature by providing a better understanding of the mechanism by which smartphone addiction reduces well-being and identifying a relevant contextual factor (i.e. hedonic use) that can worsen the impact of smartphone addiction on well-being