Problematic Online Behaviors Among Gamers: the Links Between Problematic Gaming, Gambling, Shopping, Pornography Use, and Social Networking

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate how problematic online gaming, problematic online gambling, problematic online shopping, problematic online pornography use, and problematic online social networking are associated with each other in bivariate and multivariate, network analytic analyses in an international gamer population. The effective sample comprised 4,416 gamers (age M = 23.31, SD = 6.72; 94% male). Participants filled out the specific problematic Internet use scales on gaming, gambling, shopping, pornography, and social networking. The results showed that problematic online gaming yielded small-to-medium positive bivariate correlations with other problematic behaviors. However, the exploratory graph analysis showed that all Internet-based problematic behaviors were separate entities. Finally, problematic online gaming yielded the highest scores, followed by problematic online social networking, gambling, and pornography. While gaming was the most prevalent Internet-based problematic behavior among gamers, the results further suggested that the other Internet-based problematic behaviors investigated may co-occur despite being considered separate entities.