Background: This is one of the few studies that examines adolescent Internet addiction (IA) among Middle Eastern population. The purpose of this study is to determine whether adolescents’ family and school environments play a role in their Internet Addiction.Methods: We conduced a survey that included 479 adolescents in Qatar. The survey collected demographic data, the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ), the Brief Family Relationship Scale (BFRS) and questions from the WHO Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey that assess school environment, academic performance, teacher support, and peer support of the adolescents. Factorial analysis, multiple regression, and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis.Results: Family environment and school environment were negative and significant predictors of adolescent Internet addiction. The prevalence rate was 29.64%.Conclusion: Results imply that interventions and digital parenting programs should not only target adolescents, but also include entities in the developmental environment of adolescents, i.e. their family and school.

The following article investigates the Metaverse and its potential to bolster digital accessibility for persons with disabilities. Through qualitative analysis, we examine responses from eleven experts in digital accessibility, Metaverse development, disability advocacy, and policy formulation. This exploration uncovers key insights into the Metaverse’s current state, its inherent principles, and the challenges and opportunities it presents in terms of accessibility. The findings reveal a mixed state of inclusivity within the Metaverse, highlighting significant advancements along with notable gaps, especially in integrating assistive technologies and ensuring interoperability across different virtual environments. This study emphasizes the Metaverse’s potential to revolutionize experiences for individuals with disabilities, provided that accessibility is embedded in its foundational design. Ethical and legal considerations, such as privacy, non-discrimination, and evolving legal frameworks, are identified as critical factors that shape an inclusive Metaverse. We propose a comprehensive framework that emphasizes technological adaptation and innovation, user-centric design, universal access, social and economic considerations, and global standards. This framework aims to guide future research and policy interventions to foster an inclusive digital environment in the Metaverse. This paper contributes to the emerging discourse on the Metaverse and digital accessibility, offering a nuanced understanding of its complexities and a roadmap for future exploration and development. This underscores the necessity of a multi-faceted approach that incorporates technological innovation, user-centered design, ethical considerations, legal compliance, and continuous research to create an inclusive and accessible Metaverse.

Extensive research has shown various family factors such as low family cohesion, and limited parental supervision to be associated with adolescent Internet addiction (IA). There has been little discussion about the relationship between parental IA and adolescent IA. The purpose of this study was to determine whether parental IA and parental monitoring of digital technology use interpret IA in their adolescents. The current study was carried out with 168 parents of adolescents, predominantly female parents. They reported demographics and how often they monitored their adolescent’s Internet usage and responded to the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ) and Parental Version of Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (PYDQ). The two scales, IADQ and PYDQ, comprise of eight binary questions, each representing a symptom of IA. Multiple regression and Chi-square were used for statistical analysis. The multiple regression model showed that parents’ gender, employment status, frequency of monitoring of time spent on the Internet, and activities performed on the Internet by adolescents were not significant predictors of PYDQ. Parents’ IADQ scores and the frequency of serious arguments with their adolescents about excessive Internet use were positive and significant predictors of PYDQ. Adolescents were more likely to be dependent Internet users when their parents were also dependent Internet users. Seven of the eight IA symptoms in parents were associated with the related symptoms in adolescents. These results suggest that family counseling programs shall not only focus on dealing with adolescents but help parents demonstrate constructive and balanced digital habits and become positive role models themselves. Serious arguments on excessive Internet use predicted IA in adolescents. In light of our results, it may be beneficial for parents to play a role model in technology use and have more productive discussions with their adolescents about it. The results also signify the need for better knowledge and literacy in communicating with adolescents about excessive Internet use.

Background: Family and school environment play a crucial role across the different developmental stages of adolescence. This paper investigates the potential mediating role of family and school environments in the relationship between the three psychosocial predictors of depression, anxiety, stress, and Internet addiction (IA). Specifically, it focuses on the two stages of early and middle adolescence. Methods: The study involved a survey of 407 adolescents from Qatar, comprising 250 early adolescents and 157 middle adolescents. Inclusion criteria for the study included adolescents between the ages of 10 to 17 years old, residents of Qatar and studying in a Qatar-based school. To assess the constructs of the three psychosocial predictors, IA, family environment, the study utilized the Depression, Stress, and Anxiety Scale (DASS), the Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire (IADQ), and the Brief Family Relationship Scale, respectively. School environment was measured using questions from the “Health Behavior in School-aged Children: WHO Collaborative Cross-National survey/study (HBSC) 2013–2014. The study applied standard mediation analysis between the DASS components and IA with family and school environment as the mediators. Results: Results from the mediation analysis reveal insights into the relationships between psychosocial predictors and IA. The findings indicate that family and school environments partially mediated the relationship with regards to depression, stress, and anxiety in early adolescents. In middle adolescents, family environment partially mediated the relationship with depression and stress and fully mediating the relationship with anxiety. Meanwhile, school environment only exhibited partial mediation in the relationship with anxiety in middle adolescence. Conclusions: These results highlight the crucial role parents and schools play in addressing problematic technology usage that develops as a response to depression, anxiety, and stress among adolescents. Moreover, the study reveals nuances in the mediating role of family and school environment in early and middle adolescence. This highlights the evolving nature of these influences across the different stages of development. Notably, this study contributes to the literature by moving beyond the conventional focus on the so-called WEIRD population, and offering valuable insights from a region that is underrepresented in current research.

Most studies that claimed changes in smartphone usage during COVID-19 were based on self-reported usage data, e.g., that collected through a questionnaire. These studies were also limited to reporting the overall smartphone usage, with no detailed investigation of distinct types of apps. The current study investigated smartphone usage before and during COVID-19. Our study used a dataset from a smartphone app that objectively logged users’ activities, including apps accessed and each app session start and end time. These were collected during two periods: pre-COVID-19 (161 individuals with 77 females) and during COVID-19 (251 individuals with 159 females). We report on the top 15 apps used in both periods. The Mann–Whitney U test was used for the inferential analysis. The results revealed that the time spent on smartphones has increased since COVID-19. During both periods, emerging adults were found to spend more time on smartphones compared to adults. The time spent on social media apps has also increased since COVID-19. Females were found to spend more time on social media than males. Females were also found to be more likely to launch social media apps than males. There has also been an increase in the number of people who use gaming apps since the pandemic. The use of objectively collected data is a methodological strength of our study. Additionally, we draw parallels with the usage of smartphones in contexts similar to the COVID-19 period, especially concerning the limitations on social gatherings, including working from home for extended periods. Our dataset is made available to other researchers for benchmarking and future comparisons.

Most research on Problematic Internet Usage (PIU) relied on self-report data when measuring the time spent on the internet. Self-reporting of use, typically done through a survey, showed discrepancies from the actual amount of use. Studies exploring the association between trait emotional intelligence (EI) components and the subjective feeling on technology usage and PIU are also limited. The current cross-sectional study aims to examine whether the objectively recorded technology usage, taking smartphone usage as a representative, components of trait EI (sociability, emotionality, well-being, self-control), and happiness with phone use can predict PIU and its components (obsession, neglect, and control disorder). A total of 268 participants (Female: 61.6%) reported their demographic and completed a questionnaire that included Problematic Internet Usage Questionnaire short form (PIUQ–SF–6), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF), level of happiness with the amount and frequency of smartphone use, and living conditions (whether alone or with others). Their smartphone usage was objectively recorded through a dedicated app. A series of one-way ANOVA revealed no significant difference in PIU for different living conditions and a significant difference in the subjective level of happiness with phone usage (F (3, 264) = 7.55, p < .001), as well as of the frequency of usage where the unhappy group had higher PIU (F (3, 264) = 6.85, p < .001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that happiness with phone usage (β = −.17), the actual usage of communication (β = .17), social media (β = .19) and gaming apps (β = .13), and trait EI component of self-control (β = −.28) were all significant predictors of PIU. Moreover, gender, age, and happiness with the frequency of phone usage were not significant predictors of PIU. The whole model accounted for the total variance of PIU by 32.5% (Adjusted R² = .287). Our study contributes to the literature by being among the few to rely on objectively recorded smartphone usage data and utilizing components of trait EI as predictors.