BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

    Examining the interplay between internet use disorder tendencies and well-being in relation to sofalizing during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Montag, C. and Pontes, Halley and Kannen, C. and Rozgonjuk, D. and Brandt, D. and Bischof, A. and Salbach, H. and Mößle, T. and Wölfling, K. and Rumpf, H.-J. (2024) Examining the interplay between internet use disorder tendencies and well-being in relation to sofalizing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comprehensive Psychiatry 130 , p. 152452. ISSN 0010-440X.

    [img]
    Preview
    Text
    52943.pdf - Published Version of Record
    Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

    Download (2MB) | Preview

    Abstract

    Aims: The present study investigated the potential links between Internet Use Disorder tendencies, well-being and the impact of COVID-19 on Internet usage patterns. Method: A sample of 2498 participants filled out the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; the cognitive facet of well-being) and the Sofalizing Scale which comprises the Online Displacement and Social Compensation dimensions. Participants were also asked to report the extent to which changes in Internet use occurred due to COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., reductions, no changes, increases). The present study comprised a survey study with cross-sectional character. Results: The statistical analyses demonstrated that the aforementioned variables were robustly associated with each other. In a first mediation model, the association between higher levels of Internet Use Disorder and reduced well-being was partially mediated by the two dimensions of the Sofalizing scale called Online Displacement and Social Compensation. The results of the second mediation model showed that the relationship between changes in Internet use due to COVID-19 pandemic and well-being was fully mediated by CIUS scores, suggesting that increased Internet use due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased levels of Internet Use Disorder tendencies, which in turn decreased levels of well-being. Discussion: The findings are discussed in the context of human social needs in a time of crisis, where meeting people in-person was restricted.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Internet Use Disorder, Sofalizing, Well-Being, Life Satisfaction, Internet Addiction, COVID-19 Pandemic
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences
    Depositing User: Halley Pontes
    Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2024 15:46
    Last Modified: 30 Jan 2024 20:28
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/52943

    Statistics

    Activity Overview
    6 month trend
    32Downloads
    6 month trend
    203Hits

    Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.

    Archive Staff Only (login required)

    Edit/View Item Edit/View Item