The Relationships between Gender, Life Satisfaction, Loneliness and Problematic Internet Use during COVID-19: Does the Lockdown Matter?

Jensen Deutrom,Mohamed Basel Al-Mourad,Vasilis Katos,Raian Ali

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031325

Abstract

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have attempted to reduce virus transmission by implementing lockdown procedures, leading to increased social isolation and a new reliance on technology and the internet for work and social communication. We examined people’s experiences working from home in the UK to identify risk factors of problematic internet use during the first lockdown period, specifically looking at life satisfaction, loneliness, and gender. A total of 299 adults completed the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire-Short-Form-6, UCLA-3 Item Loneliness Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale online. Through structural equation modelling, we found that loneliness positively predicted problematic internet use while gender had no effect. Life satisfaction and age positively predicted loneliness but had no direct effect on problematic internet use, suggesting loneliness fully mediated their relationship with problematic internet use. Our study serves as a benchmark study of problematic internet use among those working from home during lockdown conditions, which may be utilized by future researchers exploring longitudinal patterns post-pandemic.

Highlights

The UK is one of the countries which has been most severely affected by the COVID19 pandemic, and from secondary consequences such as some of the largest and most restrictive mass quarantines which have been implemented repeatedly [1,2,3]
While there was no direct relationship between life satisfaction and problematic internet use (PIU), life satisfaction was found to be negatively associated with loneliness, suggesting that loneliness fully mediated the relationship between life satisfaction and PIU
The present study investigated the psychosocial and demographic factors contributing to PIU during the UK COVID-19 lockdown

Summary

Introduction

The UK is one of the countries which has been most severely affected by the COVID19 pandemic (with the fifth highest total number of cases in the world), and from secondary consequences such as some of the largest and most restrictive mass quarantines which have been implemented repeatedly [1,2,3]. The restrictions brought about by the pandemic have changed our relationship with technology, with many people relying on technology and the internet for core aspects of life including work, communication, and entertainment [5,6]. While this increased use of the internet may be beneficial by helping people adapt to restrictions imposed by lockdown, this increased reliance may foster addictive and problematic behavior [7].

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