Prevalence of problematic Internet use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Julius Burkauskas; Julija Gecaite-Stonciene; Zsolt Demetrovics; Mark D Griffiths; Orsolya Király

doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101179

Prevalence of problematic Internet use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Julius Burkauskas, Julija Gecaite-Stonciene, Zsolt Demetrovics, Mark D Griffiths, Orsolya Király

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

50 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The present paper reviews recent studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) prevalence before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Several pre-pandemic meta-analyses reported PIU prevalence estimates ranging from 6% to 9.7%. Experts in the field of online addictions speculated that PIU would increase during the pandemic because of increased time spent on the Internet. However, it is still unclear if increased time on the Internet resulted in higher PIU prevalence estimates during the pandemic. Prevalence estimates differed greatly across studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible inconsistencies are outlined together with future directions for PIU prevalence studies.

Original language	English
Article number	101179
Number of pages	6
Journal	Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
Volume	46
Early online date	14 Jul 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101179
Publication status	Published - Aug 2022
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Internet addiction
COVID-19
Problematic internet use
Prevalence

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101179Licence: In Copyright

Cite this

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title = "Prevalence of problematic Internet use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic",

abstract = "The present paper reviews recent studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) prevalence before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Several pre-pandemic meta-analyses reported PIU prevalence estimates ranging from 6% to 9.7%. Experts in the field of online addictions speculated that PIU would increase during the pandemic because of increased time spent on the Internet. However, it is still unclear if increased time on the Internet resulted in higher PIU prevalence estimates during the pandemic. Prevalence estimates differed greatly across studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible inconsistencies are outlined together with future directions for PIU prevalence studies.",

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AU - Gecaite-Stonciene, Julija

AU - Demetrovics, Zsolt

AU - Griffiths, Mark D

AU - Király, Orsolya

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - The present paper reviews recent studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) prevalence before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Several pre-pandemic meta-analyses reported PIU prevalence estimates ranging from 6% to 9.7%. Experts in the field of online addictions speculated that PIU would increase during the pandemic because of increased time spent on the Internet. However, it is still unclear if increased time on the Internet resulted in higher PIU prevalence estimates during the pandemic. Prevalence estimates differed greatly across studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible inconsistencies are outlined together with future directions for PIU prevalence studies.

AB - The present paper reviews recent studies on problematic Internet use (PIU) prevalence before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Several pre-pandemic meta-analyses reported PIU prevalence estimates ranging from 6% to 9.7%. Experts in the field of online addictions speculated that PIU would increase during the pandemic because of increased time spent on the Internet. However, it is still unclear if increased time on the Internet resulted in higher PIU prevalence estimates during the pandemic. Prevalence estimates differed greatly across studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible inconsistencies are outlined together with future directions for PIU prevalence studies.

KW - Internet addiction

KW - COVID-19

KW - Problematic internet use

KW - Prevalence

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DO - 10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101179

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85134330687

VL - 46

JO - Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

JF - Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

M1 - 101179

ER -

Prevalence of problematic Internet use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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