TY - JOUR
T1 - Problematic internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic
T2 - A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence data
AU - Burkauskas, Julius
AU - Pellegrini, Luca
AU - Mozuraityte, Kristina
AU - Gecaite-Stonciene, Julija
AU - Hidvégi, Dorottya
AU - Demetrovics, Zsolt
AU - Fineberg, Naomi A
PY - 2023/9
Y1 - 2023/9
N2 - Aims: This study sought to synthesize prevalence rates of problematic internet use (PIU) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general adult (age over 18 years old) population and to investigate its possible moderators. Methods: A preregistered systematic literature review using the PubMed/MEDLINE, EBSCOhost/PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, GSK Clinical Study Register, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases was conducted. Research was completed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 checklist. Results: A total of 22 publications were identified, fulfilling inclusion criteria from a total of 595 studies. The analysis revealed that the prevalence of PIU during the COVID-19 pandemic period was 25%, however applying a stringent threshold for the PIU, resulted in a much lower prevalence of 7.9%. Conclusion: The PIU prevalence rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population was 7.9%. Measuring the prevalence of PIU remains complicated due to the large methodological and cultural diversity that exists, so global prevalence estimates of PIU vary substantially. More methodologically sound research on psychodiagnostic assessment and cultural variances is required.
AB - Aims: This study sought to synthesize prevalence rates of problematic internet use (PIU) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general adult (age over 18 years old) population and to investigate its possible moderators. Methods: A preregistered systematic literature review using the PubMed/MEDLINE, EBSCOhost/PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, GSK Clinical Study Register, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases was conducted. Research was completed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 checklist. Results: A total of 22 publications were identified, fulfilling inclusion criteria from a total of 595 studies. The analysis revealed that the prevalence of PIU during the COVID-19 pandemic period was 25%, however applying a stringent threshold for the PIU, resulted in a much lower prevalence of 7.9%. Conclusion: The PIU prevalence rate during the COVID-19 pandemic in the general population was 7.9%. Measuring the prevalence of PIU remains complicated due to the large methodological and cultural diversity that exists, so global prevalence estimates of PIU vary substantially. More methodologically sound research on psychodiagnostic assessment and cultural variances is required.
KW - COVID-19
KW - internet addiction
KW - prevalence
KW - problematic usage of the internet
KW - systematic review, meta-analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171901285&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://mppt.hu/en/project/volume-25-number-3-september-2023/
M3 - Review article
C2 - 37725750
AN - SCOPUS:85171901285
SN - 1419-8711
VL - 25
SP - 131
EP - 141
JO - Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica
JF - Neuropsychopharmacologia Hungarica
IS - 3
ER -
