Background: The term "internet addiction" (IA) describes a compulsive behavior associated with any online activity that disrupts everyday social interactions. Main aim of this research was to determine variables and development predictors of Internet addiction. Methods: A total of 1,669 respondents participated in this research; 1,040 of them (62.3%) were female, 590 (35.4%) were male, and 39 (2.3%) did not want to declare their gender. The average age of the respondents was 15.09±1.757. Data were collected using an online form consisted of demographic data, questions related to the use of the Internet, the Internet Addiction Scale, and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-auto questionnaire version (TEMPS-A) for adolescents. Results: The relationship between Internet addiction and age, addictive substance use frequency, purpose, time spent on the internet, and type of temperament has been proven. Analysis results indicate that the risk of developing internet addiction is higher if an adolescent spends 1-3 hours and more than 3 hours daily (2.8 and 8.2 times, respectively). Increasing age numbers for 1 unit (year), the risk of internet addiction developing is decreasing by 11.3%. Hyperthymic temperament type decreases the risk of 70.9% of internet addiction developing. Conclusion: It is important to highlight importance of our results since practitioners can utilize our findings to create targeted treatments and prevent internet addiction in adolescents.
The COVID-19 pandemic began in China in December 2019, from where it spread throughout the world and caused a serious threat to both physical and mental health. People were afraid due to COVID-19 cases rapidly increasing all over the world and the quick changes in how people lived. Previous studies have clearly linked the pandemic with signs of depression, stress, anxiety, and suicide thoughts, as well as with excessive internet use. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the available scientific findings regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and internet addiction in adolescents. Having insight into the scientific literature on COVID-19, mental health, and internet addiction, we have concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic time spent on the internet increased due to reduced social activities, which consequently led to internet addiction and thus to psychological distress, increased loneliness, and depression in adolescents. Early intervention is essential to reduce internet addiction and preserve the mental health of adolescents, especially in conditions of increased social stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new coronavirus SARS Cov2 disease from 2019. (COVID-19), started as a cluster of unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan in December 2019, has spread globally and caused a serious public health threat. People were scared due to the COVID-19 cases that were rapidly increasing all over the world and the quick changes in how people lived. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected various aspects of life, one of which is the increased use of the internet, especially social media platforms. Past research has clearly linked a pandemic with signs of stress, depression, anxiety, and suicide thoughts, as well as with excessive internet use. The findings of research conducted around the world indicate that the higher the level of stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in an individual, the greater the tendency to develop an addiction to the internet. The aim of this paper was to provide a brief overview of the available scientific findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and internet addiction. Methods: A sweep through available literature was performed using the database Medline via the PubMed interface for articles written in English, using keywords and MeSH terms "Internet addiction", "mental health" and "COVID-19". Results: With insight into the scientific literature on COVID-19, mental health, and internet addiction, we have concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic, time spent on the internet increased. Conclusion: Additionally, due to reduced social activities, above mentioned consequently led to internet addiction and thus to psychological distress, increased loneliness and depression.
Exponential increase in the number of individuals using internet has been observed in last ten years. The term "internet addiction" (IA) describes a compulsive behavior associated with any online activity that disrupts everyday social interactions. Main aim of this research was to determine variables and development predictors of Internet addiction. A total of 1,669 respondents participated in this research; 1,040 of them (62.3%) were female, 590 (35.4%) were male, and 39 (2.3%) did not want to declare their gender. The average age of the respondents was 15.09±1.757. Data were collected using an online form consisted of demographic data, questions related to the use of the Internet, the Internet Addiction Scale, and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-auto questionnaire version (TEMPS-A) for adolescents. According to the findings of the present study, the relationship between Internet addiction and age, addictive substance use frequency, purpose, time spent on the internet, and type of temperament has been proven. Analysis results indicate that the risk of developing internet addiction is higher if an adolescent spends 1-3 hours and more than 3 hours daily (2.8 and 8.2 times, respectively). Increasing age numbers for 1 unit (year), the risk of internet addiction developing is decreasing by 11.3%. Hyperthymic temperament type decreases the risk of 70.9% of internet addiction developing. It is important to highlight importance of our results since practitioners can utilize our findings to create targeted treatments and prevent internet addiction in adolescents.
Beginning as a wave of unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan in December 2019, the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 illness (COVID-19) spread throughout the world and posed a major threat to public health. People's lives were changing quickly, and COVID-19 instances were spreading quickly over the world, making people frightful. One of the ways in which the COVID-19 epidemic impacted people's lives was through the increased use of the Internet, particularly social media platforms. Research from the past undoubtedly connected the pandemic to symptoms of stress, sadness, worry, and suicide thoughts, in addition to increased Internet use. Research undertaken globally showed that an individual's propensity to develop an Internet addiction was positively correlated with the level of stress they experienced related to the COVID-19 epidemic. We reviewed the scientific literature on Internet addiction, mental health, and COVID-19. We came to the conclusion that more time was spent online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the aforementioned facts led to a decrease in social activities, which in turn caused Internet addiction. This resulted in psychological distress, increasing the feelings of loneliness and depression.