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Social network sites (SNSs) have been common applications attracting a large number of users in Qatar. Current literature remains inconclusive about the relationship between SNS usage and users’ academic performance. While one stream confirms that SNS usage may lead to addiction and seriously affect individuals’ academic performance, other studies refer to SNS as learning enablers. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it investigates the SNS usage profiles among the young generation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) represented by Qatar; second, it examines the relationship between the identified SNS usage profiles and their respective users’ academic performance.

The study follows a quantitative survey-based method that was adapted from Chen’s internet Addiction Scale to fit the context of social networks. Data were collected from students of two universities in Qatar, one private and another public. Respondents’ grade point average was also collected and compared across the different usage profiles to understand how SNS usage behavior affects academic performance.

Results reveal that there is no linear relationship between SNS usage and academic performance. Therefore, this study further investigates SNS usage profiles and identifies three groups: passive (low usage), engaged (normal usage) and addicted (high usage). It was found that engaged users demonstrate significantly higher academic performance than their passive and addicted peers. Moreover, there is no significant difference in the academic performance between passive and addicted users.

This study is cross-sectional and based on self-reported data collected from university students in Qatar. Further research venues could employ a more general sample covering a longer period, differentiating between messaging tools (e.g. WhatsApp) and other pure SNS (e.g. Twitter), and to cover other aspects than just academic performance.

This study complements research efforts on the influence of technology on individuals and on the society in the GCC area. It concludes that engaged SNS users achieve better academic performance than the addicted or passive users. Contradicting the strong linear relationship between SNS and performance, as claimed by previous studies, is the main originality of this paper.

The purpose of this paper is to delineate the overall theoretical framework on the topic of internet addiction through the comprehensive narrative review to make readers aware of the conceptual growth and development in the respective field. The paper evolves theoretically from the historical foundation, phenomenology, clinical feature, etiological model to the treatment outcome of internet addiction. Multiple studies have been done in the field of mental health but dearth of work given head to toe theoretical overview for understanding of this trendsetter research area in mental health.

Extensive review of literature has been carried out to make a systematic layout for conceptual paper.

The internet has been a source of gratification for several behavioral addictions as well as psychiatric disorders. Mainly because of the lack of established diagnostic criteria and a dearth of large sample surveys, the prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) in general population has not been established. Still, from all the consolidated data, PIU seems to have a male preponderance and manifests itself in late adulthood. Symptoms of PIU can easily be masked with signs of dependence, tolerance and withdrawal which is quite similar to the phenomenology of substance addiction. Psychiatric co-morbidities are more of a norm than the exception in case of PIU. Even though the clinical status of PIU is doubtful, still there is a significant demand for its treatment all over the world. Overall, the excessive use of internet has been strongly debated in literature from PIU to a positive addiction. Only time will tell how it affects our civilization as a phenomenon of evolutionary significance.

The paper is providing a general conceptual framework for internet addiction/PIU to enable readers to know about the topic in depth from the evolution of the concept to the recent developments in the area.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating role of psychological needs in the association between individualism and internet addiction.

A mixed-method design was used by comprising of 602 college students’ (70.3 percent women) responses obtained through the Individualism-Collectivism Survey, New Needs Assessment Questionnaire, and Internet Addiction Scale. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to investigate the theoretical relationships among the constructs. Constant comparative method was employed to analyze qualitative data that resulted from the transcription of semi-structured interviews with 12 field experts.

Quantitative results showed that individualism has a significant effect on internet addiction through affiliation, dominance, achievement, and autonomy (i.e. psychological needs). As students’ needs for dominance, achievement, and autonomy increased their internet addiction levels decreased. However, increase in the need of affiliation led to increase in the likelihood of internet addiction. Qualitative findings suggested alternative ways to satisfy psychological needs in socially more proper ways.

Psychological needs and internet addiction have long been investigated both independently and in relation to each other. However, the investigation of espoused culture (i.e. individualism) in relation to psychological needs and internet addiction is relatively recent. A review of the recent literature showed that an investigation of the mediating role of psychological needs in the effect of individualism on internet addiction is highly original. Moreover, initial quantitative results and follow-up qualitative findings help the authors understand psychological needs underlying internet addiction and suggest socially more appropriate means to satisfy these needs. Findings have theoretical values for researchers as well as practical values for those who work with students.

This study aims to segment and profile young internet addicts in India and examine their state of well-being.

Young’s Internet Addiction Test was adapted to identify and profile cohorts among the internet addicts. Diener’s satisfaction with life scale was used to measure the well-being. Convenience sampling was used to conduct an online survey and obtain a representative sample of 320 urban internet users. A mixed-method approach was deployed and exploratory factor analysis followed by k-means cluster analysis and discriminant analysis were used to analyse the quantitative data.

Data analysis revealed the existence of three distinct clusters: non-addicts (135), potential internet addicts (n = 128) and addicts (n = 57). Smartphones and tablets were the primary devices for accessing the internet. Wi-Fi and data cards were used by all groups for internet browsing, messaging and visiting social networking sites. The usage hours were higher for the potential internet addicts and internet addicts. These groups also faced considerable internal conflict and dissonance in their inability to control their addictive behaviour and online cravings. The non-addicts were more satisfied with their life conditions and better adjusted than the other two groups.

The incidence of diverse internet addicted groups needs to be validated through a larger sample in other regions and geographies. There is also a dire need to study other vulnerable groups, such as internet-savvy adolescents.

The study found the existence of well-defined segments and identified unique areas of conflict for each group, which subsequently affected their sense of well-being.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interrelationships between internet connectedness, online gaming, internet addiction symptoms, and academic performance decrement among the internet-dependent young people in China.

A paper-based survey was conducted among the young clients in one of the earliest and largest internet addiction clinics in China. A total of 594 in-patients (mean age=17.76 y) voluntarily participated in this study.

By adopting the concept of internet connectedness, this study explored the internet use patterns among the young internet addicts, for example, internet café patrons and those who use internet with more goals or higher degree of internet adhesiveness had more internet addiction symptoms. Online gaming was found to play a significant role in the development of internet addiction. As expected, the level of internet addiction is significantly linked to academic performance decrement. Consistent with previous studies, males showed higher degree of internet connectedness and online game usage than females. Noticeably, the moderation effect of online game playing and the mediating effect of internet addiction were also tested.

This research is focussed on the internet-dependent group, thus the generalizability of the results need to be interpreted with caution.

This study provides insight for parents, educators, health professionals, and policy makers regarding treatment and intervention for internet addiction among young people in China.

Since very little research has been done focussing on diagnosed internet-dependent group, this paper scores as a pioneering study of its kind in China.

In response to growing concerns over the negative consequences of Internet addiction on adolescents’ mental health, coupled with conflicting results in this literature stream, this meta-analysis sought to (1) examine the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents, (2) examine the moderating role of Internet freedom across countries, and (3) examine the mediating role of excessive daytime sleepiness.

In total, 52 studies were analyzed using robust variance estimation and meta-analytic structural equation modeling.

There was a significant and moderate association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, Internet freedom did not explain heterogeneity in this literature stream before and after controlling for study quality and the percentage of female participants. In support of the displacement hypothesis, this study found that Internet addiction contributes to depressive symptoms through excessive daytime sleepiness (proportion mediated = 17.48%). As the evidence suggests, excessive daytime sleepiness displaces a host of activities beneficial for maintaining mental health. The results were subjected to a battery of robustness checks and the conclusions remain unchanged.

The results underscore the negative consequences of Internet addiction in adolescents. Addressing this issue would involve interventions that promote sleep hygiene and greater offline engagement with peers to alleviate depressive symptoms.

This study utilizes robust meta-analytic techniques to provide the most comprehensive examination of the association between Internet addiction and depressive symptoms in adolescents. The implications intersect with the shared interests of social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers.

With the rise in adverse impact of excessive technology use, such as smartphone; the issue of smartphone addiction has gained the attention of researchers in recent years. Therefore, this study undertakes to review the literature on smartphone addiction research by identifying the current state of research in this domain and the future avenues that need to be addressed.

A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on 652 articles extracted from SCOPUS database. Publications were extracted from Scopus by performing a keyword search of “Smartphone Addiction” OR “Problematic smartphone use”. Bibliometric methods such as performance analysis and science mapping were used to perform the overview of smartphone addiction research. In addition, VOSviewer software was used to organise, analyse and present the data. This study identifies the most prolific authors, journals, documents, collaborative work, major research themes, potential research avenues in this field of research.

The result shows that the research on smartphone addiction has increased recently, the dominance of research is found in few countries only. There is preponderance of research in this domain in Asian countries, particularly South Korea and still there is a significant scope for future research in this area, which is presented in detail in this study. The research on smartphone addiction has been mainly conducted in the field of medicine and psychology; the other subjects lack behind by a significant margin in terms of research publications in this domain. The findings suggest Elhai (US) is the most influential researcher in this field, and US has shown high collaboration in smartphone addiction research with other countries as well as with authors within its domestic territory. Thematic map obtained from R software presents the evolution of themes. It shows that quality of life, social support, self-efficacy, anxiety and depression are major variables studied over the period. Respondents in most of the studies were university students, as the young generation is technology-savvy and is more attracted to gadgets such as smartphones.

This study provides an overview of research on smartphone addiction through an exhaustive bibliometric analysis to organise the fragmented literature on smartphone addiction and provide structure for future research in the domain. This is the first study of its kind on the subject. This study has found important future research avenues in the domain, which need to be addressed. Also, it will provide guidance to stakeholders from different backgrounds like, manufacturers, marketers, regulators, policymakers, consumers and academicians to contribute in controlling this problem as a part of their social responsibility.

This paper is unique in the sense that it, for the first time, attempts to provides valuable insights on the current status of research on smartphone addiction and also provides guidance for potential future agenda through bibliometric and content analysis techniques.

Today’s society interest in mobile photography drives consumers’ and brands’ growing usage of Instagram. This paper aims to address the consequences of excessive use of Instagram on the negative feeling of losing information when not connected and the emotional fatigue resulting from an overcharge with new information. The mediating role of addiction between Instagram overuse and the two outcomes is also analyzed.

Data from 342 active Instagram users were used to test the proposed model, applying the partial least square equation modeling method (SmartPLS 3).

Addiction partially mediates the impact of overuse on emotional fatigue and instastress. Addiction to Instagram was mainly due to respondents’ lack of control over the time spent on it resulting in incapability to reduce its usage.

Social networking site managers, educators, families and public institutions should promote an adequate use of Instagram, making users (especially the young) aware of the potential threats of its excessive usage. The control on the amount of time devoted to Instagram is a key factor for detaining overuse and addiction, as well as avoiding the negative outcomes analyzed in this research.

The findings contribute to the extant knowledge on the negative side of the digitization of the individual, as little is known about it to the best of the authors’ knowledge.

La presente investigación aborda las consecuencias del uso excesivo de Instagram relacionadas con el sentimiento negativo de pérdida de información, cuando no se está conectado, y la fatiga emocional derivada de la sobrecarga de información. El estudio también analiza el papel mediador de la adicción entre el uso excesivo de Instagram y ambas consecuencias.

Para testar el modelo propuesto se utilizó información de 342 usuarios activos de Instagram, aplicándose el método de ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales (SmartPLS 3).

La adicción media parcialmente el impacto que el uso excesivo de Instagram tiene sobre (i) la fatiga emocional y (ii) el Instastress. La adicción a Instagram se deriva principalmente de la falta de control del tiempo invertido en su uso, lo que da como resultado su incapacidad para reducir dicho uso.

Los responsables de los medios sociales, los educadores, las familias y las instituciones públicas deberían promover un uso adecuado de Instagram, haciendo que los usuarios (especialmente los más jóvenes) sean conscientes de las amenazas potenciales de su uso excesivo. El control sobre la cantidad de tiempo dedicado a Instagram es un factor clave para detener el uso excesivo y la adicción, así como para evitar los resultados negativos analizados en esta investigación.

Los resultados contribuyen a ampliar el conocimiento sobre el lado negativo de la digitalización del individuo, dada la escasa literatura al respecto.

Adicción, Uso excesivo, Instastress, Fatiga emocional, Redes sociales, Instagram

Artículo de investigación