Problematic social media use, digital gaming addiction and excessive screen time among Turkish adolescents during remote schooling: implications on mental and academic well-being

Year 2023, Volume: 36 Issue: 1, 24 - 33, 31.01.2023

Gresa Carkaxhıu Bulut Sebla Gokce

https://doi.org/10.5472/marumj.1244628

Cited By: 4

Abstract

Objective: The present study aimed to describe screen use patterns among Turkish adolescents during the coronavirus disease 19
(COVID-19) pandemic with a special emphasis on social media and digital gaming addiction, and explore how these are linked to
adolescents’ mental and academic well-being.
Materials and Method: The study sample consisted of 9th to 12th grade students from three public high-schools in Istanbul, Turkey
(n=201). Participants were required to complete a comprehensive questionnaire which gathered information about various domains
including problematic screen use, attitudes towards online education, and mental/academic well-being during the lockdown period.
Results: The overall screen time exhibited a significant increase during the lockdown, with the most common discretionary screen
activities being social media use, communication, and watching movies/series (p<0.001). The students spent significantly less time
on physical activities (p=0.003) and face-to-face meetings with their friends (p<0.001). Male students presented with higher scores on
gaming addiction (p<0.001), whereas a significantly higher proportion of the female students (28.57% vs. 14.81%) were classified as atrisk
for social media addiction (p=0.046). Both gaming addiction and social media addiction were associated with higher depression
scores (p=0.003 and p<0.001 respectively).
Conclusion: Screen use patterns may have diverse consequences for youth’s well-being during the pandemic. The addiction risk and
other detrimental outcomes are likely to be associated with the qualitative features of screen activities, rather than just the amount of
time spent on digital media by the adolescents.

Keywords

Screen time, Social media use, Digital gaming addiction, Adolescents, COVID-19, Well-being.

References

• Sigman A. Virtually addicted: why general practice must now confront screen dependency. Br J Gen Pract 2014;64:610-1. doi: 10.3399/bjgp14X682597.
• Sigman A. Screen dependency disorders: a new challenge for child neurology. Journal of the International Child Neurology Association 2017;17:119. doi:10.17724/jicna.2017.119.
• Lin MP. Prevalence of internet addiction during the COVID-19 outbreak and its risk factors among junior high school students in Taiwan. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:8547-59. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17228547.
• Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD, Binder JF. Internet addiction in students: Prevalence and risk factors. Comput Human Behav 2013;29:959-6. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.024.
• Colley RC, Bushnik T, Langlois K. Exercise and screen time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Rep 2020;31:3-11.
• Nagata JM, Cortez CA, Cattle CJ, et al. Screen time use among US adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. JAMA Pediatrics 2021;176:94-6. doi:10.1001/ jamapediatrics.2021.4334.
• Nagata JM, Magid HSA, Gabriel KP. Screen time for children and adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Obesity 2020;28:1582-3. doi: 10.1002/oby.22917.
• King DL, Delfabbro PH, Billieux J, et al. Problematic online gaming and the COVID-19 pandemic. J Behav Addict 2020;9:184-6. doi: 10.1556/2006.2020.00016.
• Sun Y, Li Y, Bao Y, et al. Brief report: increased addictive internet and substance use behavior during the COVID‐19 pandemic in China. Am J Addict 2020;29:268-70. doi: 10.1111/ajad.13066.
• Schmidt SC, Anedda B, Burchartz A, et al. Physical activity and screen time of children and adolescents before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Germany: a natural experiment. Sci Rep 2020;10:1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41598.020.78438-4
• Ten Velde G, Lubrecht J, Arayess L, et al. Physical activity behaviour and screen time in Dutch children during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Pre‐, during‐and post‐school closures. Pediatr Obes 2021;16:e12779. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12779.
• Tandon PS, Zhou C, Johnson AM, et al. Association of children’s physical activity and screen time with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Network Open 2021;4:e2127892-e2127892. doi:10.1001/ jamanetworkopen.2021.27892.
• Brailovskaia J, Margraf J. Relationship between depression symptoms, physical activity, and addictive social media use. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2020;23:818-22. doi: 10.1089/ cyber.2020.0255.
• Brailovskaia J, Teismann T, Margraf J. Positive mental health mediates the relationship between Facebook Addiction Disorder and suicide-related outcomes: A longitudinal approach. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2020;23:346-50. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2019.0563.
• Domoff SE, Sutherland EQ, Yokum S, Gearhardt A N. Adolescents’ addictive phone use: Associations with eating behaviors and adiposity. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020;17:2861. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17082861.
• Domoff SE, Sutherland E, Yokum S, et al. The association of adolescents’ television viewing with Body Mass Index percentile, food addiction, and addictive phone use. Appetite 2021;157:104990. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104990.
• Ko CH, Yen JY, Yen CF, et al. The association between internet addiction and psychiatric disorder: a review of the literature. Eur Psychiatry 2012;27:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.04.011.
• Lissak G. Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: Literature review and case study. Environ Res 2018;164:149-57. doi: 10.1016/j. envres.2018.01.015.
• Van de Velde S, Buffel V, Bracke P, et al. The COVID-19 international student well-being study. Scand J Public Health 2021;49:114-22. doi: 10.1177/140.349.4820981.
• Griffiths M. A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. J Subst Use 2005;10:191-7. doi: 10.1080/146.598.90500114359.
• Andreassen CS, Billieux J, Griffiths MD, et al. The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale crosssectional study. Psychol Addict Behav 2016;30:252-62. doi: 10.1037/adb0000160.
• Bányai F, Zsila Á, Király O, et al. Problematic social media use: Results from a large-scale nationally representative adolescent sample. PLoS One 2017;12:e0169839. doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0169839.
• Demirci İ. The adaptation of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale to Turkish and its evaluation of relationship with depression and anxiety symptoms. Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2019;20:15-23.
• Lemmens JS, Valkenburg PM, Peter J. Development and validation of a game addiction scale for adolescents. Media Psychol 2009;12:77-95. doi: 10.1080/152.132.60802669458.
• Yalçın Irmak A, Erdoğan S. Validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Digital Game Addiction Scale. Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2015;16:10-9.
• Baysak E, Kaya FD, Dalgar I, et al. Online game addiction in a sample from Turkey: Development and validation of the Turkish version of game addiction scale. Klin Psikofarmakol B 2016;26:21-31. doi: 10.5455/bcp.201.505.02073016.
• Brooks SJ, Kutcher S. Diagnosis and measurement of adolescent depression: a review of commonly utilized instruments. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 2001;11:341- 376. doi: 10.1089/104.454.601317261546.
• Brooks S. The Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (KADS). Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol News 2004;9:4-6.
• Zhou H, Hao N, Yasong D, et al. Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale. Chin Ment Health J 2015:413-8.
• Balcı Çelik S, Uysal Atabay E. The adaptation of Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale (Kads-11) to Turkish: A validity and reliability study. Soc Sci Stud J 2019;30:607-16. doi: 10.26499/sssj.1258.
• Luo T, Qin L, Cheng L, et al. Determination the cut-off point for the Bergen social media addiction (BSMAS): Diagnostic contribution of the six criteria of the components model of addiction for social media disorder. J Behav Addict 2021;10:281-90. doi: 10.1556/2006.2021.00025.
• Islam MS, Sujan MSH, Tasnim R, et al. Problematic smartphone and social media use among Bangladeshi college and university students amid COVID-19: The role of psychological well-being and pandemic related factors. Front psychiatry 2021;12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.647386.
• Chen CY, Chen IH, Pakpour AH, et al. Internet-related behaviors and psychological distress among schoolchildren during the COVID-19 school hiatus. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2021;24:654-63. doi: 0.1089/cyber.2020.0497.
• Andreassen CS, Pallesen S, Griffiths MD. The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and selfesteem: Findings from a large national survey. Addict Behav 2017;64:287-93. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.006.
• Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD. Online social networking and addiction—a review of the psychological literature. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2011;8:3528-52. doi: 10.3390/ ijerph8093528.
• Kuss DJ, Griffiths MD. Excessive online social networking: can adolescents become addicted to Facebook? Educ Health 2011;29:63-66.
• Andreassen CS. Online social network site addiction: A comprehensive review. Curr Addict Rep 2015;2:175-84. doi: 10.1007/s40429.015.0056-9.
• Milani L, La Torre G, Fiore M, et al. Internet gaming addiction in adolescence: risk factors and maladjustment correlates. Int J Ment Health Addiction 2018;16:888-04. doi: 10.1007/ s11469.017.9750-2.
• Desai RA, Krishnan-Sarin S, Cavallo D, et al. Videogaming among high school students: health correlates, gender differences, and problematic gaming. Pediatrics 2010;126:e1414-e1424. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-2706.
• Veltri N, Krasnova H, Baumann A, et al. Gender differences in online gaming: a literature review. 20th Americas Conference on Information Systems, Savannah 2014.
• Li Q, Dai W, Zhong Y, et al. The mediating role of coping styles on impulsivity, behavioral inhibition/approach system, and internet addiction in adolescents from a gender perspective. Front Psychol 2019;10:2402. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02402.
• Zhao H, Li X, Zhou J, et al. The relationship between bullying victimization and online game addiction among Chinese early adolescents: The potential role of meaning in life and gender differences. Child Youth Serv Rev 2020;116:105261. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105261.
• Lopez-Fernandez O, Williams AJ, Griffiths MD, et al. Female gaming, gaming addiction, and the role of women within gaming culture: A narrative literature review. Front Psychiatry 2019;10:454. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00454.
• Wartberg L, Kriston L, Kramer M, et al. Internet gaming disorder in early adolescence: Associations with parental and adolescent mental health. Eur Psychiatry 2017;43:14-18. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.12.013.
• Castelli FR, Sarvary MA. Why students do not turn on their video cameras during online classes and an equitable and inclusive plan to encourage them to do so. Ecol Evol 2021;11:3565-76. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7123.
• Vaillancourt T, Brittain H, Krygsman A, et al. School bullying before and during COVID‐19: Results from a populationbased randomized design. Aggressive Behav 2021;47:557-69. doi: 10.1002/ab.21986.
• Lessard LM, Puhl RM. Adolescent academic worries amid COVID-19 and perspectives on pandemic-related changes in teacher and peer relations. Sch Psychol 2021;36:285-92. doi:10.1037/spq0000443.
• Twenge JM, Martin GN, Campbell WK. Decreases in psychological well-being among American adolescents after 2012 and links to screen time during the rise of smartphone technology. Emotion 2018;18:765-80. doi: 10.1037/ emo0000403.
• Wang X, Li Y, Fan H. The associations between screen timebased sedentary behavior and depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Public Health 2019;19:1-9. doi: 10.1186/s12889.019.7904-9.
• Fernandes B, Biswas UN, Mansukhani RT, et al. The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on internet use and escapism in adolescents. Rev Psicol Clin con Ninos Adolesc 2020;7:59-65. doi: 10.21134/rpcna.2020.mon.2056
• Ko CH, Yen JY. Impact of COVID-19 on gaming disorder: Monitoring and prevention. J Behav Addict 2020;9:187-9. doi: 10.1556/2006.2020.00040.
• She R, Wong K, Lin J, et al. How COVID-19 stress related to schooling and online learning affects adolescent depression and Internet gaming disorder: Testing conservation of resources theory with sex difference. J Behav Addict 2021;10:953-66. doi: 10.1556/2006.2021.00069.
• Donati MA, Guido CA, De Meo G, et al. Gaming among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown: The role of parents in time spent on video games and gaming disorder symptoms. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18:6642. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126642.
• Frison E, Eggermont S. Browsing, posting, and liking on Instagram: The reciprocal relationships between different types of Instagram use and adolescents’ depressed mood. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2017;20:603-9. doi: 10.1089/ cyber.2017.0156.
• Romer D, Bagdasarov Z, More E. Older versus newer media and the well-being of United States youth: results from a national longitudinal panel. J Adolesc Health 2013;52:613-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.11.012.
• Vidal C, Lhaksampa T, Miller L, et al. Social media use and depression in adolescents: a scoping review. Int Rev Psychiatry 2020;32:235-53. doi: 10.1080/09540.261.2020.1720623.
• Liang L, Zhou D, Yuan C, et al. Gender differences in the relationship between internet addiction and depression: A cross-lagged study in Chinese adolescents. Comput Human Behav 2016;63:463-70. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.043.