Problematic Internet Use among adolescents and young adults: a systematic review of scholars’ conceptualisations after the publication of DSM5

Abstract

Scholars’ opinions vary considerably regarding many different aspects of Problematic Internet Use (PIU), including whether it should be conceptualised as an addiction, whether it has to be seen as a discrete category or as the pole of a “normal” to pathological continuum, and whether and how the relationship between a person’s characteristics and socio-cultural environment needs to be considered. The aim of the present study is to qualitatively review the evolving body of literature on PIU among adolescents in relation to the three above-mentioned issues, in order to examine how far existing research has progressed since the publication of DSM-5. Following PRISMA guidelines, studies from 2014 to 2019 identified by a search on SCOPUS and Google Scholar were collected. The PIU conceptualisations employed in studies among adolescents and young adults were analysed. Results showed that the debate on PIU as a form of addiction or a distinct clinical disorder is far from over; nonetheless, in the scientific literature about PIU among adolescents and young adults the idea of Internet use as a way to compensate for unsatisfied needs is growing, calling for a better appreciation of what happens in the life-contexts to explain how youths move to/away from PIU over time.