ArticleAddictive behaviors2018
Problematic internet use as an age-related multifaceted problem: Evidence from a two-site survey.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Mapping research on ICT addiction: a comprehensive review of Internet, smartphone, social media, and gaming addictions.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- The Worldwide Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Medical Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- The association between problematic internet use and social anxiety within adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Structural gray matter differences in Problematic Usage of the Internet: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Cognitive deficits in problematic internet use: meta-analysis of 40 studies.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2019Pooled it
- Online Shopping Addiction in Association with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress: Exploring Independent and Relative Contributions in a Cross-Sectional Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A clinical trial of cognitive behavioral interventions for social media addiction, psychological problems, quality of family relationships and academic performance among university students.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Exploring the Relationship Between Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) Among Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Problematic Social Media Use and Its Relationship with Breastfeeding Behaviors and Anxiety in Social Media-Native Mothers: A Mixed-Methods Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Association of Game Use With Loneliness and Social Isolation: A Nationwide Korean Study.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Electronic device usage pattern is associated with sleep disturbances in adolescents: a latent class analysis.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Article
- The effect of internet addiction on surgical nurses' malpractice tendencies: Turkish sample.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Examining the unique relationships between problematic use of the internet and impulsive and compulsive tendencies: network approach.BJPsych open · 2024Article
- Problematic Internet Use Among Adolescent Male and Female Psychiatric Inpatients: A Gender Perspective.Child psychiatry and human development · 2024Article
- Navigating the digital landscape: Relationship between type of internet use and well-being among students-A mediation and moderation analysis.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- The relationship between self-control and internet gaming disorder and problematic social networking site use: the mediation effects of internet use motives.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- How stress influences short video addiction in China: an extended compensatory internet use model.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The association between the use of video games, social media and online dating sites, and the symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in adults aged 25 and over.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Association between internet use and primary headache severity among Hungarian university students: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- The Mediating Role of Procrastination in the Relationship between Fear of Missing Out and Internet Addiction in University Students.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsProblematic internet use (PIU; otherwise known as Internet Addiction) is a growing problem in modern societies. There is scarce knowledge of the demographic variables and specific internet activities associated with PIU and a limited understanding of how PIU should be conceptualized. Our aim was to identify specific internet activities associated with PIU and explore the moderating role of age and gender in those associations.
methodsWe recruited 1749 participants aged 18 and above via media advertisements in an Internet-based survey at two sites, one in the US, and one in South Africa; we utilized Lasso regression for the analysis.
resultsSpecific internet activities were associated with higher problematic internet use scores, including general surfing (lasso β: 2.1), internet gaming (β: 0.6), online shopping (β: 1.4), use of online auction websites (β: 0.027), social networking (β: 0.46) and use of online pornography (β: 1.0). Age moderated the relationship between PIU and role-playing-games (β: 0.33), online gambling (β: 0.15), use of auction websites (β: 0.35) and streaming media (β: 0.35), with older age associated with higher levels of PIU. There was inconclusive evidence for gender and gender × internet activities being associated with problematic internet use scores. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social anxiety disorder were associated with high PIU scores in young participants (age ≤ 25, β: 0.35 and 0.65 respectively), whereas generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were associated with high PIU scores in the older participants (age > 55, β: 6.4 and 4.3 respectively).
conclusionsMany types of online behavior (e.g. shopping, pornography, general surfing) bear a stronger relationship with maladaptive use of the internet than gaming supporting the diagnostic classification of problematic internet use as a multifaceted disorder. Furthermore, internet activities and psychiatric diagnoses associated with problematic internet use vary with age, with public health implications.
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