Effects of narcissism, leisure boredom, and gratifications sought on user-generated content among net-generation users

This research identifies the gratifications sought by the net-generation when producing user-generated content (UGC) on the internet. Members of the Net-generation want to vent negative feelings, show affection to their frieds and relatives, be involved in others' lives, and fulfill their need to be recognized. These gratifications were all found to be significantly associated with the users' various levels of participation in UGC (e.g., Facebook, YouTube, blogs, online forums, etc.) What's more, narcissism was predictive of content generation in social networking sites, blogs, and personal webpage, while leisure boredom was significantly linked to expressing views in forums, updating personal website, and participating in consumer reviews. In particular, the results showed the Net-geners who encountered leisure boredom had a higher tendency to seek interaction with friends online. Implications of findings are discussed. --Narcissism,leisure boredom,user-generated content,uses and gratifications

Index of Problematic Online Experiences: Item Characteristics and Correlation with Negative Symptomatology

This exploratory study aimed to develop and test a quick, easily administered instrument, the Index of Problematic Online Experiences (I-POE). The goal of the I-POE extends beyond assessing for Internet overuse to broadly assess problematic Internet use across several domains and activities. Data was collected from 563 college students from a Northern New England university using an online survey methodology. Results indicated the I-POE has adequate construct validity and is highly correlated with a variety of relevant constructs: depression, anger=irritability, tension-reduction behavior, sexual concerns, and dysfunctional sexual behavior as measured by the Trauma Symptom Inventory; as well as amount of Internet use and permissive attitudes toward engaging in a variety of sexual activities. Early flagging of online experiences could mitigate the negative effects associated with problematic use. The I-POE, as an easy-to-administer, short screening index, holds promise in this regard. Initial testing of the instrument points to its utility in identifying persons who are experiencing a broad range of Internet-related problems

Internet addiction in students: prevalence and risk factors

The last decade has witnessed a large increase in research on the newly emerging mental health problem of Internet addiction. Rather than looking at Internet addiction per se, this study focused on particular activities on the Internet that might be potentially addictive and linked them to personality traits that might predispose individuals to Internet addiction. The aims of this study were (i) to assess the prevalence of clinically significant levels of Internet addiction, and to (ii) discern the interplay between personality traits and specific Internet uses in increasing the risk for Internet addiction. This cross-sectional online survey used data from 2,257 students of an English university. Results indicated that 3.2% of the students were classified as being addicted to the Internet. The included personality traits and uses of online activities explained 21.5% of the variance in Internet addiction. A combination of online shopping and neuroticism decreased the risk for Internet addiction, whereas a combination of online gaming and openness to experience increased it. In addition to this, frequent usage of online shopping and social online activities, high neuroticism and low agreeableness significantly increased the chances of being addicted to the Internet. Findings and their implications are discussed

Analysis of Internet Addiction Levels of University Students in Terms of the State of Doing Sport

The aim of the present study is to examine the internet addiction levels of university students in terms of the state of doing sport and different variables. A total of 300 students, 132 male and 168, studying in Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University participated in the study. Internet Addiction Scale which was developed by Günüç and Kayri (2010) and which had four sub-dimensions (withdrawal, controlling difficulty, disorder in functionality and social isolation) was used. SPSS 22.0 program was used for the statistical analysis. Significance was found in the sub-dimensions of withdrawal and social isolation in terms of the variable of gender (p<0.05) and in the sub-dimension of social isolation in terms of the variables of faculty and the state of doing sport regularly (p<0.05). It can be seen that internet addiction levels were similar in all sub-dimensions except for social isolation, while they were found to be different in the sub-dimension of withdrawal in terms of the variable of gender. This result is thought to be associated with the fact that students who do sport regularly and those attending sport sciences faculty are not exposed to social isolation due to sport and that they lead more social lives when compared with the students of other faculties. In terms of the variable of gender, it is thought that the reason why female students had higher withdrawal levels can be due to the fact that men can act more comfortably in social life

Analysis of Internet Addiction Levels of University Students in Terms of the State of Doing Sport

The aim of the present study is to examine the internet addiction levels of university students in terms of the state of doing sport and different variables. A total of 300 students, 132 male and 168, studying in Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University participated in the study. Internet Addiction Scale which was developed by Günüç and Kayri (2010) and which had four sub-dimensions (withdrawal, controlling difficulty, disorder in functionality and social isolation) was used. SPSS 22.0 program was used for the statistical analysis. Significance was found in the sub-dimensions of withdrawal and social isolation in terms of the variable of gender (p<0.05) and in the sub-dimension of social isolation in terms of the variables of faculty and the state of doing sport regularly (p<0.05). It can be seen that internet addiction levels were similar in all sub-dimensions except for social isolation, while they were found to be different in the sub-dimension of withdrawal in terms of the variable of gender. This result is thought to be associated with the fact that students who do sport regularly and those attending sport sciences faculty are not exposed to social isolation due to sport and that they lead more social lives when compared with the students of other faculties. In terms of the variable of gender, it is thought that the reason why female students had higher withdrawal levels can be due to the fact that men can act more comfortably in social life

Technological use behaviors, personality and university performance among italian university students

Aims of this study are to improve the understanding of the types of internet use among young people, surveying the average time spent online weekly and the different types of internet use; to asses the risk of internet addiction and to investigate the relationship between behaviours in technological use, personality characteristics and academic performance. The sample consists of 870 Italian third-year university students. The Multidimensional Personality Profile (MPP), the Questionnaire about the Internet use, abuse and addiction (UADI) and a personal data sheet (age, gender, type of faculty attended, year of course, number of university exams taken and average of marks obtained) have been administered online. The use of the Internet in our sample is mainly not a problematical one. Significant correlations were found between Self regulation and Dissociation (r = −0.36) and between Machiavellism/cynism and Escape (r = 0.36), Dissociation (r = 0.33) and Experimentation (r = 0.34). Academic performance of the students was significantly and negatively correlated with total internet addiction score (r= - 0,34)

Motivation of internet use: relation with pathological internet use, gender and internet activities

This study is aimed to examine the motivation of Internet use among university students in Malaysia. A total of 102 students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) answered the pencil-paper questionnaire. Result of descriptive analysis showed that 49.02% of students were identified as pathological Internet use (PIU). The predominant motivation of Internet use were information seeking and entertainment/escape. The inferential analysis using MANOVA indicated that students with PIU reported significantly higher scores of all motivation factors of Internet use than their non-PIU peers. Correlational test was used to examine the relationship between motivation of Internet use and Internet activities found that social recognition was significantly related to four Internet activities including social networking site (SNS), online game, shopping and browsing. Entertainment/escape was only related to SNS usage. The low coefficient of correlation between motivation and Internet activities implied the influence of potential variables

Towards an understanding of internet-based problem shopping behaviour: the concept of online shopping addiction and its proposed predictors

Abstract Background Compulsive and addictive forms of consumption and buying behaviour have been researched in both business and medical literature. Shopping enabled via the Internet now introduces new features to the shopping experience that translate to positive benefits for the shopper. Evidence now suggests that this new shopping experience may lead to problematic online shopping behaviour. This paper provides a theoretical review of the literature relevant to online shopping addiction (OSA). Based on this selective review, a conceptual model of OSA is presented. Method The selective review of the literature draws on searches within databases relevant to both clinical and consumer behaviour literature including EBSCO, ABI Pro-Quest, Web of Science — Social Citations Index, Medline, PsycINFO and Pubmed. The article reviews current thinking on problematic, and specifically addictive, behaviour in relation to online shopping. Results The review of the literature enables the extension of existing knowledge into the Internet-context. A conceptual model of OSA is developed with theoretical support provided for the inclusion of 7 predictor variables: low self-esteem, low self-regulation; negative emotional state; enjoyment; female gender; social anonymity and cognitive overload. The construct of OSA is defined and six component criteria of OSA are proposed based on established technological addiction criteria. Conclusions Current Internet-based shopping experiences may trigger problematic behaviours which can be classified on a spectrum which at the extreme end incorporates OSA. The development of a conceptual model provides a basis for the future measurement and testing of proposed predictor variables and the outcome variable OSA

Investigation of Emotion Characters of Internet Abusers Using Psychophysiological Signals

Because of ubiquitous Internet and devices, the numbers of the Internet users rapidly increase. Internet addiction (IA) is also a fast growing, serious, and unavoidable problem around the world. The fifth version of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders suggested that IA should be studied in a scientific manner, and more related data must be acquired. Emotion was one important character of IA, and emotion-related syndrome was also reported in these years. IA contains psychological and physiological features and usually is assessed by IA scales. However, self-reporting scale is a subjective measurement tool that may be biased. Furthermore, scales or questionnaires assess the long-term developed states of IA rather than the developing states of IA or short-term change. The physiological signals of IA abusers can provide objective, short-term, dynamic change information instead. Therefore, the dynamic physiological regulation and the psychological and physiological responses to emotion of IA abusers, particularly respiration and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, were studied. IA abusers tended to perform thoracic movement for emotion regulation, whereas people without IA tended to perform abdominal movement. IA abusers exhibited stronger RSA reactivity following negative emotion, but exhibited weaker RSA reactivity following positive emotion

A Predictive Model For Self-reported Computer Criminal Behavior Among College Students

Presently, computer crime is rampant and costly. Combating these crimes is not only focused on the technical aspect but also the individual behind the computer. Researchers agree the way to fight computer crime is to gain a better understanding of those behind the keyboard. In an effort to aid investigators in profiling computer criminals, the current study aims to add empirical literature relating to characteristics which predict computer behavior. The current study aims to test the Rogers, Seigfried and Tidke (2006) predictive model and determine if Internet addiction is related to self reported computer deviant behavior. By utilizing a snowball sampling method the current study (n=95) was comprised of 49 self reported computed deviants and 46 non-computer deviants. Over all, Internet addiction was the best predictive variable for computer behavior. Those who scored high on the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were 1 time more likely to be self-reported computer deviants. Limitation and future research is also discussed