Loneliness and Social Internet Use: Pathways to Reconnection in a Digital World?

With the rise of online social networking, social relationships are increasingly developed and maintained in a digital domain. Drawing conclusions about the impact of the digital world on loneliness is difficult because there are contradictory findings, and cross-sectional studies dominate the literature, making causation difficult to establish. In this review, we present our theoretical model and propose that there is a bidirectional and dynamic relationship between loneliness and social Internet use. When the Internet is used as a way station on the route to enhancing existing relationships and forging new social connections, it is a useful tool for reducing loneliness. But when social technologies are used to escape the social world and withdraw from the “social pain” of interaction, feelings of loneliness are increased. We propose that loneliness is also a determinant of how people interact with the digital world. Lonely people express a preference for using the Internet for social interaction and are more likely to use the Internet in a way that displaces time spent in offline social activities. This suggests that lonely people may need support with their social Internet use so that they employ it in a way that enhances existing friendships and/or to forge new ones

Loneliness and social media: A qualitative investigation of young people's motivations for use and perceptions of social networking sites

The democratisation of Internet access has incrementally changed every domain of activity and has created new business and economic models. From answering work emails to learning a new language, shopping, booking medical appointments or managing one’s finances, almost everything is attainable at the click of a button. The added implications of the rapid rise of social networking websites (SNSs), such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat, have further contributed to changing the way we communicate and build new friendships. Indeed most of our social relationships are now being ‘increasingly developed and maintained online’ (Nowland, Necka & Cacioppo, 2017: 1). Ostensibly, despite improved Internet access and enhanced social connectedness, modern societies are struggling to combat loneliness. It is reported to affect people of all ages, especially young adults (16-24 and 25-34 years old) who are avid Internet and social media users (see Office for National Statistics, 2018)

CROATIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION-HRVATSKI CASOPIS ZA ODGOJ I OBRAZOVANJE

Positive power is very important for adolescents' physical and mental health. The sample for the study was composed of a total of 760 students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades from 7 elementary schools. The sociodemographic data form, the Child-Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS) for measuring the social support perceived and the Middle School Self-efficacy Scale for measuring self-efficacy were used. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the social support perceived and elementary school students' self-efficacy and the variables that influence perceived social support and self-efficacy. A positive relationship was determined between the CASSS and point averages on the sub-scales, the Middle School Self-efficacy Scale and the sub-scales of the students (p<0.001). It was established that the perceived social support in adolescents has affected their self-efficacy skills. It is recommended that professionals dealing with adolescent health should guide the adolescents by using social support and health self-efficacy on gaining skills for health protection, promotion and to take over the responsibility of their own health

ANTHROPOLOGIST

The present study investigated the effects of loneliness, depression and perceived social support on problematic Internet use among university students. The participants were 459 students at two universities in Turkey. The study data were collected with a Questionnaire Form, Problematic Internet Use Scale (PIUS), University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Version 3), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance were conducted to examine the differences; and correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between variables. There was a positive significant correlation between the PIUS and MSPSS and the UCLA Loneliness Scale and a negative significant correlation between the PIUS and Beck Depression Scale (BDS). The female students had higher total PIUS scores. The results also illustrated that there was a statistically significant difference in total PIUS scores according to having a social network account

CROATIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION-HRVATSKI CASOPIS ZA ODGOJ I OBRAZOVANJE

This study aims to evaluate and compare university students' hopelessness levels for specific variables. The sample included 535 university students at the School of Physical Education and Sports (SPES) of the Adnan Menderes University. The 20-item Beck Hopelessness Scale, developed by Beck et al. (1974), was used in the study. Seber et al. (1993), Durak and Palabiyikoglu (1994) created a Turkish adaptation of the scale. Based on the data, descriptive frequencies and percentage tables were obtained. The Mann Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, nonparametric correlation and linear regression analyses were implemented using the SPSS 16.0 statistical software for the hopelessness scores. There was an insignificant correlation between students' hopelessness levels in different departments and playing sports, while students' hopelessness scores in the training department were higher than the scores of students in other departments. The low income students' hopelessness levels were higher, but there was a significant correlation between low income and middle/high income

The association between perceived social support and self-efficacy of Turkish elementary school children [Povezanost percepcije društvene podrške i samoucinkovitosti kod ucenika osnovnih škola u Turskoj]

Positive power is very important for adolescents’ physical and mental health. The sample for the study was composed of a total of 760 students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades from 7 elementary schools. The sociodemographic data form, the “Child-Adolescent Social Support Scale” (CASSS) for measuring the social support perceived and the “Middle School Self-efficacy Scale” for measuring self-efficacy were used. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between the social support perceived and elementary school students’ self-efficacy and the variables that influence perceived social support and self-efficacy. A positive relationship was determined between the CASSS and point averages on the sub-scales, the Middle School Self-efficacy Scale and the sub-scales of the students (p<0.001). It was established that the perceived social support in adolescents has affected their selfefficacy skills. It is recommended that professionals dealing with adolescent health should guide the adolescents by using social support and health self-efficacy on gaining skills for health protection, promotion and to take over the responsibility of their own health. © 2015 FACTEACHEREDUCATION. All rights reserved

Flow experience and performance: A study of elite Turkish handball players

The aim of this study was to determine the flow states of elite handball players and to examine its effects in terms of several variables. 34 (19 female- 15 male) athletes aged 27.22± 5.44 competing in Turkish Handball Super League participated in the study and as a result of a total of 17 matches (men 10, women 7), 142 participations were included into evaluation. At the end of the matches, the athletes were given Personal Information Forms together with the form on their perceptions of the difficulty levels of the competition and the Dispositional Flow State Scale-2, which was developed by Jackson and Eklund (2004) and adapted into Turkish by Aşçı et al. (2007). As a result of the study, it was found that elite female handball players had higher flow experiences than elite male handball players. Flow experiences of handball players aged 30 and over were found to be significant at a higher level than those of handball players aged 30 and under; it was also concluded that the relationship between perception of difficulty and flow state, duration of game, gender and age are effective determiners. © JPES

Problematic Internet Use and Loneliness: How Complex Is the Relationship? A Short Literature Review

Purpose The Internet has become embedded into the life of billions of people worldwide. In some individuals, excessive Internet use impacts negatively on psychological and social functioning. Several studies over the last decades have focused on the relationship between Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and loneliness. The present review aims to provide an overview of the recent literature in this field and to suggest some critical questions. Recent Findings A small-medium positive association between loneliness and PIU has been reported in several cross-sectional studies. However, the association becomes weaker when other variables are controlled for. Longitudinal studies suggest a dynamic relationship between PIU and loneliness. Summary There is ample evidence that PIU and loneliness are positively associated, but care should be taken to control for other related variables (e.g., depression). Over time, PIU and loneliness seem to be linked in a vicious cycle, with PIU as a possible starting point