ReviewSSM - population health2021
Association between internet addiction and loneliness across the world: A meta-analysis and systematic review.
Review in SSM - population health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring the relationship between social media use and loneliness in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Pooled it
- Loneliness and Problematic Media Use: Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- The association between internet-use-disorder symptoms and loneliness: a systematic review and meta-analysis with a categorical approach.Psychological medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Relationship between loneliness and internet addiction: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of internet addiction in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2022Pooled it
- Feelings of Loneliness: Understanding the Risk of Suicidal Ideation in Adolescents with Internet Addiction. A Theoretical Model to Answer to a Systematic Literature Review, without Results.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Internet Addiction, Mental Health Help-Seeking, and Mental Health Problems Among Chinese Adolescents: Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Are Online Social Experiences Associated With General Interpersonal Problems? A Circumplex Assessment.Journal of clinical psychology · 2026Article
- Emotional problems mediate the effects of prosocial behaviour, school safety, and Internet addiction on adolescent loneliness: an exploratory study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Cross-Lagged Panel Network Analysis Between Internet Addiction and Depression: Gender and Mid-Late Adolescent Differences.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- An Object Hiding Behind the Screen: The Relationship Between Body Surveillance and Internet Addiction Among Chinese Women.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Article
- Problematic internet users develop enhanced perceptual processing to offset neural deficits in conflict monitoring.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Association between Problematic Internet and Mobile Phone Use, autistic traits, and psychological distress among adults: A cross-sectional survey.PLOS mental health · 2026Article
- Classifying Internet Addiction Using Machine Learning Approach: A Study Among Adolescents in Bangladesh.Public health challenges · 2025Article
- Article
- Childhood Maltreatment, Bullying, and Internet Addiction in Relation to Suicidal Ideation Among Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Mediation and Network Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Rejection Sensitivity and Problematic Internet Use Among Medical Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Involving Loneliness and Self-Control.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Attentional Bias for Internet-Related Information and Emotional Information in Internet Addiction: Moderating Role of Sleep Quality.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2025Article
- The Moderated Mediating Effects of Social Media Identity and Loneliness on the Relationship Between Problematic Internet Use and Mental Health in China: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Residents' Internet use, family economic status, and self-rated health: gender-based differences.BMC public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There might be an association between Internet addiction (IA) and loneliness; however, inconsistent evidence suggests that the severity of this association remains unclear. This study was conducted to assess the association between IA and loneliness. A systematic literature search was conducted in four online databases, including PubMed (MESH terms), Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase. Observational studies measuring the association between IA and loneliness were screened and included in this review. A meta-analysis was conducted using the Stata software. Twenty-six articles with a total sample size of 16496 subjects were included in the analysis. A moderate positive association (r = 0.15 (95% CI: 0.13, 0.16)) was found between IA and loneliness. The individuals with IA had significantly higher scores of loneliness. According to this meta-analysis, we need more attention to the early symptoms of loneliness in individuals with IA. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the temporality of this association considering adjustment for time varying confounders.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.