Abstract
The manner and frequency of Internet use may reflect the needs, preferences, values, personal motivations and personality characteristics of users. The aim of this research was to analyse the relationship between the Big Five Personality factors and impulsivity with Problematic Internet Use and the Negative Impact of WhatsApp. The sample consisted of 630 university students (75.7% female) aged between 18 and 62 years (M = 21.23). The results indicated that the Big Five Personality factors and impulsivity correlated significantly with Problematic Internet Use and the Negative Impact of WhatsApp. Impulsivity proved to be the most important predictor of Problematic Internet Use and the Negative Impact of WhatsApp. It can be concluded, cautiously, that impulsive people have a greater predisposition to develop Problematic Internet Use and, also to experience a greater negative impact due to the use of WhatsApp.
Highlights
The manner and frequency of Internet use may reflect the needs, preferences, values, personal motivations and personality characteristics of users
The results indicated that the Big Five Personality factors and impulsivity correlated significantly with Problematic Internet Use and the Negative Impact of WhatsApp
Statistically significant differences were found in the problematic use of WhatsApp, t(627) = 2.722, p = .007, and in the total WhatsApp Negative Impact Scale score, t(627) = 2.184, p = .029, with women obtaining the highest scores (Table 1)
Summary
The manner and frequency of Internet use may reflect the needs, preferences, values, personal motivations and personality characteristics of users. The aim of this research was to analyse the relationship between the Big Five Personality factors and impulsivity with Problematic Internet Use and the Negative Impact of WhatsApp. The sample consisted of 630 university students (75.7% female) aged between 18 and 62 years (M = 21.23). Instant messaging has several different features compared to other Internet applications that make this one more attractive to users. Features such as providing information about users' connection status, pop-ups when users receive a message, the immediacy of responses or the ability to have multiple simultaneous conversations -individually or in groups- (Mesch, Talmud, & Quan-Haase, 2012; Wang, Ngai, & Wei, 2012).
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