Internet Addiction (IA) refers to excessive or uncontrolled behaviors related to Internet access, causing impairment or distress. Similarly, Smartphone Addiction (SPA) involves the excessive use of smartphones, disrupting users' daily lives. Cognitive control plays a relevant role in the development of IA and SPA, with executive functions and rewards processing being particularly important. This study aims to provide a synthesis of scientific evidence on the differential effects of IA and SPA on cognition in young adults and adolescents, using fMRI. Relevant articles published between 2013 and May 2023 were identified following the PRISMA protocol. Included studies (n = 21) revealed that both behavioral addictions were associated with impairments in cognitive control related to reward processing (ACC, insula, amygdala) and executive function (DLPFC, frontal, parietal lobes) in adolescents and young adults. These findings provide evidence for neuroanatomical similarities between IA and SPA in young adults and adolescents related to executive functions and rewards processing. However, differential effects of SPA and IA on cognitive control were not found in this study. Future research should explore the relationship between these addictions with other cognitive domains to further expand our understanding within this field. While both IA and SPA involve the excessive use of online technology, SPA could involve a higher risk, given that smartphones allow internet connectivity anytime.

Background: Eating disorder (ED) symptoms and body image (BI) concerns involve serious risks to the physical and mental health of women and men. Social networking sites have amplified the promotion of idealised body images, contributing to this issue. Objectives: This study examines the link between personal and emotional factors, social media body image-related behaviours, BI concerns, and ED symptoms, as well as the differential role of these factors according to gender. Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied. The participants were 201 Spanish adults (mean age = 28.26; 76.6% women) who completed self-reported measures on BI (MBSRQ), ED symptoms (EAT-26), perfectionism (EDI-2), anxiety, depression, stress (DASS-21), emotional dysregulation (DERS), life satisfaction (SWLS), and social media BI-related behaviours. Results: Significant relationships between ED symptoms and BI concerns with personal and emotional factors and social media body image-related behaviours have been found. Women have scored higher in ED symptoms and social media BI-related behaviours than men. Multiple regression analyses showed that the difficulty in accepting emotions and not posting images due to BI dissatisfaction were risk factors for ED symptoms in both men and women. Furthermore, the adverse effect of perfectionism and low life satisfaction on women’s ED symptoms were demonstrated, whereas in men, goal-directed behaviours were associated with ED risk. Conclusions: These results suggest that prevention programmes focusing on emotional regulation and healthier social media use can be effective for ED symptoms and BI concerns.

Previous research has identified several risk factors involved in Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) related to personal, cognitive, emotional, and executive dimensions. However, there is limited literature on the key factors associated with PSMU and how this condition might mediate the relationship between emotional and cognitive factors and executive dysfunction and psychological distress. The present study examined the role of emotional dysregulation and avoidant decision-making style on PSMU, as well as the link between PSMU, dysexecutive symptoms, and psychological distress based on the Interaction of Person-Affect-Cognition-Execution (I-PACE) model. A cross-sectional study of 956 university students (67.6% women, M _age = 21.22, SD = 4.22, range 17–30) was conducted. Participants completed self-report measures of PSMU (BSMAS), emotional dysregulation (DERS-16), avoidant decision-making style (GDMS), dysexecutive symptoms (PSI-20), and psychological distress (DASS-21). A structural equation model (SEM) was used to examine the direct effects of emotional dysregulation and avoidant decision-making style on PSMU, as well as the mediating role of PSMU on the relationship between emotional and cognitive dimensions and dysexecutive symptoms and psychological distress. The SEM demonstrated good fit to the data, χ ² (114) = 481, p < .001, χ ² /df = 4.22 CFI = .995, TLI = .995, SRMR = .053, RMSEA = .058, 95% CI [.053, .063]; p = .007). The positive direct effects of emotional dysregulation ( β = .80) and avoidant decision-making style ( β = .18) on PSMU were significant. In turn, PSMU was positively associated with psychological distress ( β = .80), and dysexecutive symptoms ( β = .93). Significant indirect effects were found between the affective and cognitive dimensions and dysexecutive symptoms and psychological distress through PSMU. Emotional dysregulation and avoidant decision-making style were significantly associated with higher levels of PSMU. In addition, greater PSMU was associated with increased psychological distress and more pronounced dysexecutive symptoms. These findings are consistent with the I-PACE model emphasizing the interplay between affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes in problematic online behaviors. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify the temporal ordering and potential reciprocity of these associations.

Background: Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU) and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) are online behaviors associated with adverse psychosocial outcomes in young adults. However, person, affective, cognitive, and executive correlates of these behaviors remain insufficiently examined. This study examined I-PACE (Interaction of Person–Affect–Cognition–Execution) model dimensions associated with PSMU and IGD, and their co-occurrence in young adults from dimensional and categorical perspectives. Methods: A total of 1586 students (68.9% female; M = 20.42 years, SD = 2.41) completed self-report measures assessing PSMU, IGD, personality traits, emotion regulation difficulties, decision-making styles, and executive functioning. Results: Overall, 17.97% screened positive for PSMU, 16.02% for IGD, and 10.65% for both behaviors. In the entire sample, PSMU and IGD were both related to lower conscientiousness, difficulties in goal-directed behavior, non-acceptance of negative emotions, and emotional and executive control deficits. PSMU was additionally related to extraversion, limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies, and dependent decision-making style, whereas agreeableness, impulse control difficulties, and social behavior control deficits were related to IGD. From a categorical perspective, executive deficits were associated with higher PSMU symptomatology, whereas lower agreeableness and conscientiousness, greater difficulties in goal-directed behavior, and a lower tendency to use an intuitive decision-making style were related to higher IGD symptomatology. Among participants with co-occurring PSMU and IGD, lower agreeableness, lower openness to experience, and greater difficulties in goal-directed behavior were associated with higher PSMU and IGD symptoms. Dependent decision-making was additionally associated with higher PSMU symptoms. Furthermore, mean comparisons revealed that the PSMU and IGD co-occurring group showed higher levels of neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, spontaneous/avoidant decision-making styles, and executive, emotional, and social behavior control deficits than single-behavior groups. Conclusions: The findings suggest partially distinct patterns of association between person, affective, cognitive, and executive dimensions, depending on whether problematic online behaviors were considered from a dimensional or categorical perspective. These exploratory results require longitudinal replication and validation in clinical samples and in samples from other cultures, or from different developmental stages.