SCIENTIFIC FACT SHEET

INTERNET ADDICTION: SCIENTIFIC DATA TO CONTEXTUALIZE DIANOVA’S LAUNCH OF INTERNET ADDICTION CAMPAIGN #DONTLETYOURSELFBEPOSSESSED

There are no consistent data regarding the global prevalence of Internet addiction. The existing data are collected on a country-to-country and study-to-study basis.As it is an especially vulnerable group, most studies concern to children and adolescents and are conducted in school environment.

  • 1%-18% of adolescents show to have problematic use of the Internet in both Western and Eastern countries(Cao et al, 2007; Jang et al, 2008 in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • 1%-2% of Italian students have moderate to severe problematic use of the Internet (PoliAgrimi in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • 1%-12% of children and adolescents in Middle Eastern countries (Canan et al, 2010 in Chang & Hung, 2012) and 2%-18% of children and adolescents in Asian countries appear to have problematic Internet use (Cao & Su, 2007 in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • Small scale studies in South Korea showed that children between 6 and 19 years have problematic Internet use, many of them requiring treatment(Choi, 2007 in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • Around 10 million adolescent Internet users in China may meet the criteria for Internet addiction (Cao & Su, 2007in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • 1 out of 5 British adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 wake up during the night to check their social media accounts[1]
  • 87% of Spaniards admit to having their smartphones within reach all day and 80% confess that the first they do when they wake is to check up the smart phone[2]
  • Youngsters between 16 and 20 years old in Spain can´t live without Internet: about46% admit to having felt dependent and feeling the need to disconnect and 85% consider that people their age are addicted. Only 7% consider themselves as addicted[3]
  • Studies show that adolescents with problematic Internet use tend to be boys, have poorer academic performance and are more likely to access Internet at home and cafes rather than in school settings (Kormas et al, 2011in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • People with problematic Internet use are more likely to converse in chat rooms, play interactive games, and access information of sexual nature, and are less prone to use Internet for educational purposes (Komas et al, 2011 in Chang & Hung, 2012)
  • Adolescents with problematic Internet use tend to have more behavioural problemssuch as hyperactivity, conduct problems and worse overall psychosocial maladjustments than their peers (Kormas et al., 2011 in Chang & Hung, 2012)

INTERNET USE

In 2013,Tsitsika et al. conducted a comparative study on Internet use and Internet addictive behavior among European adolescents. This cross-sectional school-based study was conducted in seven European countries – Greece, Spain, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Iceland. Some of the more significant results are presented below (Tsitsika et al, 2013).

Online activities engaged in at least weekly by gender, age and parental education(adapted Tsitsika et al, 2013)

Adolescents (%) who do the following at least weekly / All / Gender / Age / Parental Education
Female / Male / 14-15 / 16-17 / Low / Middle / High
Social networking (SNS) / 85 / 88 / 82 / 85 / 86 / 83 / 86
Watching videos or movies / 83 / 79 / 87 / 83 / 83 / 80 / 85
Instant messaging (IM) / 65 / 66 / 64 / 64 / 67 / 65 / 64
Downloading music / 59 / 57 / 63 / 58 / 62 / 63 / 58
Doing homework or research / 56 / 60 / 62 / 55 / 58 / 56 / 57
Hobbies / 56 / 49 / 64 / 56 / 55 / 52 / 59
e-mail / 48 / 49 / 47 / 44 / 55 / 44 / 51
News sites / 38 / 33 / 43 / 39 / 36 / 34 / 41
Chat rooms / 38 / 34 / 42 / 37 / 39 / 40 / 37
Downloading movies / 30 / 22 / 39 / 29 / 32 / 34 / 29
Shooter games / 28 / 5 / 53 / 28 / 28 / 27 / 28
Single player games / 26 / 20 / 33 / 27 / 25 / 27 / 25
Multiplayer role-playing games / 23 / 8 / 41 / 24 / 22 / 22 / 24
Internet forums / 23 / 19 / 28 / 21 / 27 / 25 / 22
Downloading software / 19 / 10 / 30 / 16 / 24 / 20 / 19
Downloading games / 18 / 8 / 30 / 16 / 21 / 21 / 17
Real time strategy games / 15 / 5 / 28 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 15
Sexual information / 14 / 3 / 25 / 14 / 13 / 13 / 14
Making personal web-sites or blogging / 11 / 12 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 11 / 11
Purchasing goods / 7 / 5 / 9 / 7 / 8 / 7 / 7
Medical information / 7 / 7 / 7 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 6
Games with monetary awards / 6 / 2 / 11 / 6 / 8 / 8 / 6
Games of chance / 3 / 1 / 6 / 3 / 4 / 4 / 3

According to the study, most adolescents use the Internet to communicate with others using mostly social networking applications, instant messaging and e-mail. Right after comes entertainment such as watching videos or movies and downloading music, followed by information seeking when doing homework or visiting news sites.

Averaging the time spent online on school days and non-school days in can be estimated that adolescents spend around 2hours and 12 minutes on the Internet each day.

  • Boys spend slightly more time using the Internet than girls
  • 16-17 year old group spent more time online than the 14-15 year old group

Internet access

  • Across all countries, mobile phones (50%), desktop computers (48%) and laptops (46%) were the most used devices. Television sets, shared laptops and consoles are devices seldom used.
  • The most frequently reported location for Internet use is the adolescent’s bedroom (68%), followed by the living room at home, and being the least reported locations internet cafés, libraries, and other public places.

Prevalence of Internet addictive behaviour and dysfunctional Internet behaviour

  • The proportion of adolescents with Internet addictive behaviour (IAB) was 1.2% (0,9% in girls, 1,6% in boys) and the proportion at risk for IAB was 12,7% (11,8% in girls and 13,6% in boys)
  • The proportion of adolescents with dysfunction Internet behaviour was 13,9%
  • Dysfunctional Internet behaviour was more frequent in boys, in those aged over 15 years old and in those whose parents’ highest education level was low or middle

Psychosocial correlates

  • Adolescents with dysfunctional Internet behaviour reported more symptoms in all syndrome scales: Anxious/depressed, Withdrawn/depressed, Somatic complaints, Social problems, Thought problems, Attention problems, Rule-breaking behaviour, Aggressive behaviour, Internalizing problems, Externalizing problems and Total problems subscales
  • Adolescents with higher scores in Internalizing and Externalizing Problems had greater odds of dysfunctional Internet behaviour

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Chang, J. P-C., Hung, C-C.(2012) «Problematic Internet Use» in Rey, J.M. (ed.), IACAPAP e-Textbook of Children and Adolescent Mental Health. Geneva: International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatric and Allied Professions.

Pontes, H.M., Patrão, I.M., Griffiths, M.D. (2014a) «Portugues validation of the Internet Addiction Test: An empirical study». Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 3(2), pp. 107-114

Pontes, H.M., Griffiths, M.D., Patrão, I.M. (2014b) «Internet Addiction and Loneliness Among Children and Adolescents in the Education Setting: An Empirical Pilot Study». Revista de Psicología, Ciències de l’Educatiói de l’Esport, 32(1), pp. 91-98

Tsitsika, A., Janikian, M., Tzavela, E.C., Schoenmakers, T.M, Ólafsson, K., Halapi, E., Tzavara, C., Wójcik, S., Makaruk, K., Critselis, E., Müller, K.W., Dreier, M., Holtz, S., Wölfling, K. Iordache, A., Oliaga, A. Chele, G., Macarie, G., Richardson, C. (2013) Internet Use and Internet Addictive behaviour among European adolescents: a cross-sectional study. EU: Safer Internet Plus Programme

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[1] According to Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research in “Jovensacordam de noite para veremredessociais” – Jornal de Notícias, 16/09/2015

[2]According to Sociedad de la Información en España de Telefónica in “Yonquis del móvil”- El País, 23/06/2015

[3]According to Jóvenes en la red: un selfie in “Adictos reconocidos” – La Vanguardia, 14/05/2015