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Problematic Internet Use, Social Needs, and Social Support Among Youth

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Abstract

The Internet is essential for the teenagers and young adults who are spending hours online every day. In an effort to better understand the role of the Internet in their lives, we hypothesized that users increased their online time for social reasons. In this online survey, 408 (204 girls and 204 boys; aged between 14 and 24 years) participants were recruited from high schools and universities. The questionnaire included scales about the problematic Internet use (PIU), need to belong, shyness, loneliness, and perceived social support. PIU was directly related to a higher need to belong, higher shyness, and higher loneliness. The perceived support was associated indirectly with PIU. Loneliness showed the most decisive role in the development of PIU, and social support also contributed through this variable. Our data indicate that social support from the offline environment can be a protective factor against PIU, emphasizing the important roles of friends and family.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to offer their thanks to Kevin M. Fitzpatrick for his helpful comments on the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Health Science and Health Development, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary

    Dora K. Prievara

  2. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Szeged, Szentharomsag str. 5., Szeged, 6722, Hungary

    Bettina F. Piko

  3. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA

    Aleksandra Luszczynska

  4. SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland

    Aleksandra Luszczynska

Authors
  1. Dora K. Prievara
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  2. Bettina F. Piko
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  3. Aleksandra Luszczynska
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Correspondence to Bettina F. Piko.

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All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Prievara, D.K., Piko, B.F. & Luszczynska, A. Problematic Internet Use, Social Needs, and Social Support Among Youth. Int J Ment Health Addiction 17, 1008–1019 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9973-x

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