Problematic use of the internet and smartphones in university students

It has been more than a decade since a concern about the addictive use of the Internet and mobile phones was first expressed, and its possible inclusion into the lists of mental disorders has recently become a popular topic of scientific discussion. Thus, it seems to be a fitting moment to investiga...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sánchez Carbonell, Xavier|||0000-0002-9714-1568, Chamarro Lusar, Andrés|||0000-0002-8059-5467, Oberst, Úrsula E.|||0000-0002-4735-782X, Rodrigo, Beatriz, Prades, Mariona
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:188353
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/188353
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/ijerph15030475
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Internet addiction
Mobile phone addiction
Online social network
University students
Technological addictions
Behavioral addictions
CERI
CERM
Descripción
Sumario:It has been more than a decade since a concern about the addictive use of the Internet and mobile phones was first expressed, and its possible inclusion into the lists of mental disorders has recently become a popular topic of scientific discussion. Thus, it seems to be a fitting moment to investigate the prevalence of this issue over time. The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of the perception of problematic Internet and smartphone use in young people over the period 2006-2017. To this end, a questionnaire on Internet use habits and two questionnaires on the negative consequences of Internet and smartphone use were administered to a sample of 792 university students. The scores were then compared with the results of former studies that had used these questionnaires. The perception of problematic Internet and mobile phone use has increased over the last decade, social networks are considered responsible for this increase, and females are perceived to be more affected than males. The current study shows how strong smartphone and Internet addiction and social media overlap. Participants from 2017 report higher negative consequences of both Internet and mobile phone use than those from 2006, but long-term observations show a decrease in problematic use after a sharp increase in 2013. We conclude that the diagnosis of technological addictions is influenced by both time and social and culture changes