Internet Behavior Research Articles

Are Mental Health Effects of Internet Use Attributable to the Web-Based Content or Perceived Consequences of Usage? A Longitudinal Study of European Adolescents.

BackgroundAdolescents and young adults are among the most frequent Internet users, and accumulating evidence suggests that their Internet behaviors might affect their mental health. Internet use may impact mental health because certain Web-based content could be distressing. It is also possible that excessive use, regardless of content, produces negative consequences, such as neglect of protective offline activities.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess how mental health is associated with (1) the time spent on the Internet, (2) the time spent on different Web-based activities (social media use, gaming, gambling, pornography use, school work, newsreading, and targeted information searches), and (3) the perceived consequences of engaging in those activities.MethodsA random sample of 2286 adolescents was recruited from state schools in Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Questionnaire data comprising Internet behaviors and mental health variables were collected and analyzed cross-sectionally and were followed up after 4 months.ResultsCross-sectionally, both the time spent on the Internet and the relative time spent on various activities predicted mental health (P<.001), explaining 1.4% and 2.8% variance, respectively. However, the consequences of engaging in those activities were more important predictors, explaining 11.1% variance. Only Web-based gaming, gambling, and targeted searches had mental health effects that were not fully accounted for by perceived consequences. The longitudinal analyses showed that sleep loss due to Internet use (ß=.12, 95% CI=0.05-0.19, P=.001) and withdrawal (negative mood) when Internet could not be accessed (ß=.09, 95% CI=0.03-0.16, P<.01) were the only consequences that had a direct effect on mental health in the long term. Perceived positive consequences of Internet use did not seem to be associated with mental health at all.ConclusionsThe magnitude of Internet use is negatively associated with mental health in general, but specific Web-based activities differ in how consistently, how much, and in what direction they affect mental health. Consequences of Internet use (especially sleep loss and withdrawal when Internet cannot be accessed) seem to predict mental health outcomes to a greater extent than the specific activities themselves. Interventions aimed at reducing the negative mental health effects of Internet use could target its negative consequences instead of the Internet use itself.Trial RegistrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 65120704; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN65120704?q=&filters=recruitmentCountry:Lithuania&sort=&offset= 5&totalResults=32&page=1&pageSize=10&searchType=basic-search (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation/abcdefg)

The Role of Parents in Problematic Internet Use among US Adolescents

The internet has transformed the way youth communicate, learn, and network, with implications for their broader social, psychological, and physical health and well-being. With the technological capability of accessing the internet from anywhere, at any time, paired with the enormous variety of internet activities in which youth engage—from social networking to chatting to streaming videos to playing games to watching television content—instances of problematic internet behavior have emerged. We conducted an online national survey of 629 US adolescents ages 12–17 years old and a matching survey of one of their parents. We investigated the relationship between problematic internet behavior and parental monitoring, parental mediation of internet use, and parental estimates of their adolescent’s time spent using computers. Analyses showed that problematic internet use was associated with less parental monitoring and parental mediation and poorer parental relationships. Adolescents that spent a lot of time on the computer were also more likely to engage in problematic internet use. Although we cannot determine the direction of the relationships, results support the important role of parents in adolescents’ problematic internet use.

A QoE-Aware Resource Distribution Framework Incentivizing Context Sharing and Moderate Competition

We contend that context information of Internet clients can help to efficiently manage a variety of underlying resources for different Internet services and systems. We therefore propose a resource distribution framework that provides quality of experience (QoE) aware service differentiation, which means that starving clients are prioritized in resource allocation to enhance the corresponding end-user's QoE. The framework also actively motivates each Internet client to consistently provide its actual context information and to adopt moderate competition policies, given that all clients are selfish but rational in nature. We analyze the Internet client's behavior by formulating a non-cooperative game and prove that the framework guides all clients (game players) towards a unique Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, we prove that the distribution results computed by the framework maximize a social welfare function. Throughout this paper, we demonstrate the motivation, operation and performance of the framework by presenting a Web system example, which leverages on the advanced context information deduced by a context-aware system.

The relationship between schizotypal personality and internet addiction in university students

The current study assessed the relationship between problematic internet behaviors, as measured by the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and schizotypal personality traits, measured by the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE(B)). One hundred participants (aged between 20 and 30) were given a battery of psychometric assessments, including the IAT and O-LIFE(B), as well as measures of depression, and anxiety. Around 30% of the sample displayed responses to the IAT that suggested some problems controlling internet behaviors, and there was no gender difference in these figures. There were associations between both the impulsive nonconformity and introverted anhedonia schizotypal personality traits and problematic internet use, over and above those associated with depression and anxiety. This replicates some previous work that implies that impulsiveness and depression are predictive of behavioral addictions, but places them within a single construct. The findings also support the notion of two groups of users who display problematic internet behaviors – impulsive and depressed individuals.

Development of a Measure: Internet Behaviors Scale

&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;Background and aims: Previous studies had documented that Social Networking Sites (S.N.S) has pathological effect on its users. A multi dimension syndrome, called problematic Internet use (PIU), causing behavioral and cognitive symptoms, which results in negative impact on different aspect&lt;strong&gt;s&lt;/strong&gt; of life like social, professional or academic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;Because of increased attention to PIU, some measure had been made, but they seem to be inadequate, due to new issue of the internet interactions. Therefore the necessity and importance of standard, valid and reliable tools to assess PIU and the related behaviors is clear.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;In a survey conducted by Morahan-Martin and Schumacher on differences between lonely and non-lonely in internet behaviors, “Internet Behaviors scale” was used.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;The paper was frequently cited as a source by different researchers, but no validity or reliability for that scale was reported. The scale evaluates the different aspects of internet behavior which seems to be a quite helpful tool for PIU assessment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;Method: This survey presented results of a study that evaluate reliability and validity of “Internet Behaviors Scales” with Iranian university student&lt;strong&gt;s&lt;/strong&gt;. This questionnaire was completed by 156 volunteer students of Shiraz University. To assess reliability coefficient α and test retest method was conducted. To assess validity exploratory factor analysis and convergent and discriminant validity was conducted.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;Results: Factor Analysis indicated three dimensions of this scale: social aspects, negative impact and competency and convenience aspect.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="zhengwen"&gt;“The internet Behaviors Scale” as the results indicate showed acceptable reliability and validity with Iranian students.&lt;/p&gt;Discussion: The internet Behaviors Scale as the results indicated could be used as a standard scale (valid and reliable) to evaluate PIU and related behaviors. It is important that validity and reliability of this scale be measured by other means.

Association between problematic internet use, socio-demographic variables and obesity among European adolescents.

Overweight of children and adolescents continues to be an important and alarming global public health problem. As the adolescent's time spent online has increased, problematic internet use (PIU) potentially leads to negative health consequences. This study aimed to examine the relation between PIU and overweight/obesity among adolescents in seven European countries and assess the effect of demographic and lifestyle factors recorded in the European Network for Adolescent Addictive Behaviour (EU NET ADB) survey (www.eunetadb.eu). A cross-sectional school-based survey of 14- to 17-year-old adolescents was conducted in seven European countries: Germany, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Spain. Anonymous self-completed questionnaires included sociodemographic data, internet usage characteristics, school achievement, parental control and the Internet Addiction Test. Associations between overweight/obesity and potential risk factors were investigated by logistic regression analysis, allowing for the complex sample design. The study sample consisted of 10 287 adolescents aged 14-17 years. 12.4% were overweight/obese, and 14.1% presented with dysfunctional internet behavior. Greece had the highest percentage of overweight/obese adolescents (19.8%) and the Netherlands the lowest (6.8%). Male sex [odds ratio (OR) = 2.89, 95%CI: 2.46-3.38], heavier use of social networking sites (OR = 1.26, 95%CI: 1.09-1.46) and residence in Greece (OR = 2.32, 95%CI: 1.79-2.99) or Germany (OR = 1.48, 95%CI: 1.12-1.96) were independently associated with higher risk of overweight/obesity. A greater number of siblings (OR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.64-0.97), higher school grades (OR = 0.74, 95%CI: 0.63-0.88), higher parental education (OR = 0.89, 95%CI: 0.82-0.97) and residence in the Netherlands (OR = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.31-0.77) independently predicted lower risk of overweight/obesity. The results indicate an association of overweight/obesity with PIU and suggest the importance of formulating preventive public health policies that target physical health, education and sedentary online lifestyle early in adolescence with special attention to boys.

Who Shares What with Whom and Why?

Successful online publishers like BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post have mastered the art of making news go viral. In order for this to happen, it needs to be shared by a large number of online media users. Understanding what makes a piece of content worth sharing with others then becomes a key element in understanding current news flows. User-oriented studies about what incites people to share news are limited. Content characteristics, personal dispositions towards news and new media, and self-presentation have proved to be relevant indicators, but people might differ considerably in the way they share news. We hypothesize that different “sharing profiles” are discernible amongst online news users, based on their motivations to share, but also considering internet skills and news-sharing behaviour. In order to identify these profiles, we draw on a survey amongst Dutch-speaking Belgian online media users (N = 1237). The results illustrate how motivations to share are important predictors of online sharing activity; especially staying socially connected with others. Yet, self-confidence in internet skills was found to be a second, important predictor for online sharing behaviour. Drawing on these insights, we discuss whether viral news forms a threat or an opportunity to news reporting.

Addicted to the Thrill of the Virtual Hunt: Examining the Effects of Internet Addiction on the Cyberstalking Behaviors of Juveniles

ABSTRACTThe rapid advancement of technology has produced several substantial benefits that enrich individuals’ lives, but some also note that technology has provided new methods to engage in crime—particularly stalking. This investigation was one of the first to explore whether a relationship existed between cyberstalking and a new phenomenon becoming a pressing issue in the lives of adolescents: Internet Addiction. High school students in a rural North Carolina country were surveyed about their Internet behaviors and experiences. After analysis, the results indicated there is a significant relationship between Internet Addiction and cyberstalking in adolescents.

Problem Internet Overuse Behaviors in College Students: Readiness-to-Change and Receptivity to Treatment

This mixed methods study explores college students' readiness-to-change and receptivity to treatment for problem Internet overuse behaviors. Focus groups were conducted with 27 college students who self-identified as Internet over-users, and had experienced biopsychosocial problems related to Internet overuse. Participants completed standardized questionnaires assessing their Internet use and sociodemographic forms. Focus groups explored readiness to change problem Internet overuse behaviors and receptivity to treatment. Similar to college students with other addictive behaviors, students with problem Internet overuse fall along a continuum vis-à-vis readiness-to-change their behaviors. Over half of the participants were receptive to treatment for their problem Internet overuse behaviors.

The impact of capacity growth in national telecommunications networks.

This paper discusses both UK-based and global Internet data bandwidth growth, beginning with historical data for the BT network. We examine the time variations in consumer behaviour and how this is statistically aggregated into larger traffic loads on national core fibre communications networks. The random nature of consumer Internet behaviour, where very few consumers require maximum bandwidth simultaneously, provides the opportunity for a significant statistical gain. The paper looks at predictions for how this growth might continue over the next 10-20 years, giving estimates for the amount of bandwidth that networks should support in the future. The paper then explains how national networks are designed to accommodate these traffic levels, and the various network roles, including access, metro and core, are described. The physical layer network is put into the context of how the packet and service layers are designed and the applications and location of content are also included in an overall network overview. The specific role of content servers in alleviating core network traffic loads is highlighted. The status of the relevant transmission technologies in the access, metro and core is given, showing that these technologies, with adequate research, should be sufficient to provide bandwidth for consumers in the next 10-20 years.

Parenting and Internet Behavior Predictors of Cyber-Bullying and Cyber-Victimization among Preadolescents

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the relationship between cyber-bullying (CB), cyber-victimization (CV), parenting styles, children’s Internet use and skills, on-line disinhibition, and five perceived specific Internet parenting practices in a sample of 220 Greek elementary students. Bully-victims scored higher in on-line disinhibition, while children of democratic parents in safe Internet use, Internet skills, and parenting communication about Internet use. CB and CV correlated negatively with Internet content parenting practices and autonomy, and positively with on-line disinhibition. CB negatively correlated with behavioral control. Psychological autonomy, warm involvement and on-line disinhibition significantly predicted CB, while psychological autonomy, CV. Prevention and intervention recommendations are provided.

Narcissism, Internet, and social relations: A study of two tales

Much scholarly literature has investigated the connection of narcissism and Internet use, specifically focused on online social networks. However, there is no consensus about how the narcissists' Internet use impacts their social relations. In part, mixed findings might be explained by failure to account for two distinct types of narcissism, namely a grandiose type and a vulnerable type. In the present study, we expected these two facets of narcissism to show different patterns of associations with Internet behaviors and social outcomes. Anonymous, self-report data were collected from N=532 late adolescent/young adult participants (mean age=23.33, 54.9% female). Findings from SEM analyses showed that the links between narcissism and social anxiety/social self-efficacy were partially mediated by preference for online social interactions (POSI); however, the two types of narcissism show distinct links to the two outcomes. Vulnerable narcissism was positively associated with POSI, which indirectly predicted problems for both measures of social relations; in contrast, grandiose narcissism was only directly and positively associated with social self-efficacy and negatively with social anxiety.

Online Learning: trends, issues and challenges in the Big Data Era

Nowadays, many students access online resources using their mobile devices, substituting this for traditional learning interactions. However, the new concept of ‘big data’ in recent ICT discussions extends the promising research direction on online learning and big data integration. Big data promises content that can be tailored for each student based on the context and Internet behaviour of users in online learning. This study examines recent Internet activities and literacy in Brunei Darussalam (Brunei) relating to the Internet behaviour and online learning of residents. The study highlights milestones in terms of recent issues, challenges, and trends in Internet activities, focusing on online learning and its potential in the big data era. An extensive nationwide survey was conducted to ensure the reliability of the data. The survey revealed that people in Brunei expect and demand better learning services and experiences through an online learning system to improve literacy as well as the quality and ef ciency of learning. Regardless of the limitations of the survey, the general public has shown great support for online learning systems. The results of the survey provide a solid argument for further research on big data in online learning by developing a framework incorporating the expectations of the people. Finally, the study provides a baseline for future studies of Internet adoption in Brunei.

Location Is (Still) Everything: The Surprising Influence of the Real World on How We Search, Shop, and Sell in the Virtual One by David R. Bell

Reviewed by: Location Is (Still) Everything: The Surprising Influence of the Real World on How We Search, Shop, and Sell in the Virtual One by David R. Bell Mingshu Wang Location Is (Still) Everything: The Surprising Influence of the Real World on How We Search, Shop, and Sell in the Virtual One David R. Bell. New Harvest, distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, MA, July 15, 2014. 240pp.; maps, diagrs., photos, bibliog., and index. $26.00 cloth. (ISBN 978-0-544-26227-0) Dr. David Bell’s fundamental argument across the book is that our physical locations and environments largely shape the way we use the Internet, particularly our online shopping behaviors. He asserts this claim directly in the book’s introduction, claiming that “if you and I live under different physical circumstances and in different physical environments, we will use the virtual world very differently— even if we are very similar people in terms of our ages, incomes, education levels and so on. We’ll shop differently, search differently and won’t be equally attractive to sellers.” (p. 4). In support of this claim, Bell’s book is organized into six major chapters, with the first two chapters serving to lay down foundations followed by three chapters that closely examine the impacts of three particular locational conditions (i.e. adjacency, vicinity and isolation). The book’s final chapter offers a conclusion and looks towards the future. The first chapter, titled “Geography”, sets the foundation of the book by demonstrating how the physical world dictates purchasing behaviors at different scales (i.e. individual, neighborhood, and country levels). Zipf’s law in urban systems and Walter Christaller’s central place theory are used to illustrate such ideas. The second chapter, “Resistance”, involves a discussion of how the Internet mitigates restrictions posed by geographical constraints but, concurrently, how it poses its own constraints. The geographical areas that we live in determine our favor of one brand over that brand’s close competitor; residents of smaller, remote, and homogenous locations are more likely to use the [End Page 476] Internet for shopping than residents of larger, more urban, and more diverse locations. In such places, those residents often use the Internet more as a source of information. Hence, the physical world and the virtual world both compete against and complement each other in marketing environments. In Chapter 3, the author coins the word adjacency to convey the idea of Tobler’s First Law of Geography (i.e. everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things.) to explain consumption behaviors. The underlying mechanisms behind such spatial autocorrelation include the homophily effect—households that form the same areas usually share the same socioeconomic status and accessibility to stores— and the contagion effect—we learn about the product/service from people around us. Then the contributing roles of population density, offline establishment of face-to-face interactions, community homogeneity, and neighborhood cohesion are also discussed. Chapter 4 supplements Chapter 3 by introducing the concept of vicinity to capture similarities in social distance (i.e. locations afar may be socioeconomically clustered together due to similar demographic, cultural, and economic ties). While adjacency shows that Internet behaviors are shaped by proximate individuals with shared physical locations (neighborhood effects), vicinity suggests that Internet behaviors are also shaped by social location, that is, when individuals share characteristics and preferences whether they are geographically located near to or far from each other (social contagion). In Chapter 5, Bell focuses on preference isolation—the challenge of satisfying minority consumer tastes due to local sellers catering to the preferences of the local majority—as an opportunity for Internet sellers to make a difference. In other words, “Isolation offline becomes liberation online” (p. 152). The book’s concluding chapter draws together the previous chapters to ground a discussion of how social capital and word of mouth are used as bridges to fill the gap between physical and virtual marketing environments effectively. It is also interesting that the author uses a broader concept of topography as “the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of the area” (p. 153) to capture the coalescence of the physical virtual...

Nowcasting Mobile Games Ranking Using Web Search Query Data

In recent years, the Internet has become embedded into the purchasing decision of consumers. The purpose of this paper is to study whether the Internet behavior of users correlates with their actual behavior in computer games market. Rather than proposing the most accurate model for computer game sales, we aim to investigate to what extent web search query data can be exploited to nowcast (contraction of “now” and “forecasting” referring to techniques used to make short-term forecasts) (predict the present status of) the ranking of mobile games in the world. Google search query data is used for this purpose, since this data can provide a real-time view on the topics of interest. Various statistical techniques are used to show the effectiveness of using web search query data to nowcast mobile games ranking.

The development of compulsive internet use and mental health: A four-year study of adolescence.

Is compulsive Internet use (CIU) an antecedent to poor mental health, a consequence, or both? Study 1 used a longitudinal design to track the development of CIU and mental health in Grade 8 (N = 1030 males, 1038 females, Mage = 13.7), 9, 10, and 11. Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining the kinds of Internet behaviors most strongly associated with CIU within males and females. Structural equation modeling revealed that CIU predicted the development of poor mental health, whereas poor mental health did not predict CIU development. Latent growth analyses showed that both females and males increased in CIU and mental health problems across the high school years. Females had higher CIU and worse mental health than males, and tended to engage in more social forms of Internet use. We discuss future directions for CIU intervention research.

Comparing Online Personality of Americans and Chinese

Internet is a newly invented product in recent tens of years and has a profound effect on personality. Here come the new concept-Online personality-in recent studies. In this review, we want to find what are the similarities and differences of online personality studies in China and USA, two representative countries of eastern and western cultures. Firstly, 349 articles were selected and divided into three main areas, such as online personality measurement, online personality and its related Internet behavior, online personality and problematic Internet usage respectively, to address the question. Second, the potential reasons of these similarities and differences are discussed and finally future research directions are proposed that more direct online personality measurement should be developed and culture differences should be taken into consideration while doing research of online personality in different countries.

인터넷 사용목적에 따른 인터넷 과다 사용 청소년들의 일반적 특성과 건강수준 및 건강행태의 차이

Objectives: This study aimed to identify general characteristics of health status and health behavior of adolescents in accordance with their purposes with internet. Methods: Based on Adolescent Health Behavior Online Survey (KYRBS) in 2014, a total of 57,333 adolescents who had used internet were examined in this study. Results: Users for non-academic purposes were associated with male, low grades, low education level of parents, low income level, being apart from parents, being without any consulting partners, being with one parent families, low perceived health status, the experience suicidal ideation and negative health behavior such as alcohol and tobacco. In particular, these trends were appeared strongly by internet users for the purpose of the non-academic purposes. Male among high grades is shown to be mostly Academic internet users and they were more likely to have problems with some health behaviors such as exercise frequency and smoking. Conclusions: Target population should be internet users for only non-academic purposes to prevent internet addiction of adolescents. Internet addiction prevention program should be provided in terms of mental health and problematic behavior. Additionally, health behavior of internet over user for only academic purposes should be concerned.

The Effect of Loneliness on Social Networking Sites Use and Its Related Behaviors.

Introduction:The current research was conducted to examine the effect of “Loneliness”, on time spent in Social Networking Sites (S.N.S), main reasons for S.N.S use, and its related behaviors.Materials and Methods:156 students of Shiraz University voluntarily participated in this research. Loneliness was assessed usingthe UCLA Loneliness scale. 25% of highest scoring students reported that they were lonely whereas 25% of the lowest scoring students were considered to be non-lonely. The positive and negative reasons of using S.N.S were assessed based on Reasons for Internet Use Scale, and internet behaviors were assessed based on Scale of Internet Behaviors.Results:There was no difference in time spent in S.N.S as well as the positive and negative reasons of using S.N.S (contrary to literature), but internet behaviors showed a significant difference between “lonely” and “non-lonely” individuals. “Lonely” and “non-lonely” individuals showed a significant difference in “social aspect” of S.N.S behaviors. There was also a significant difference between “Lonely” and “non-Lonely” individuals in “Negative impact” of S.N.S behaviors. Yet, there seemed to be no difference in “competency and convenience aspect” of S.N.S behaviors.Conclusions:This study suggested that there is no difference between lonely and non-lonely individuals in reasons for using S.N.S and time spent in S.N.S. This finding stands contrary to previous research findings and general literature on the subject In other words, what drives people to S.N.S at the first place shows no significant difference between lonely and non-lonely individuals while after attending S.N.S, social behavior of lonely individuals shows a significant difference which is consistently enhanced online. Lonely people also significantly develop internet-related problems in their daily functioning, including interference with real life socializing.

The moderating effects of parenting styles on the relation between the internet attitudes and internet behaviors of high-school students in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to investigate how parenting styles moderate the relation between the Internet attitudes and behaviors of high-school-aged students in Taiwan. We review the literature on studies of parenting styles and Internet attitudes, and their relations between Internet behaviors. We employed Latent Class Analysis to cluster the child-reported parenting styles. In this regard, we found that there exist three types of parenting styles in Taiwan. We in turn implemented the 2nd-order confirmatory factor analysis to validate the 6-T internet attitude model. The so-called 6-T internet attitude model is to explain the Internet attitude by the multi-dimensions such as Tool, Telephone, Toy, Territory, Treasure and Trade. It provides the basis on which we conducted the structural regression modeling. Three kinds of Internet behavior “online social compensation seeking”, “online game addiction” and “information security behavior” are analyzed in our research. We used the structural regression modeling to incorporate the 2nd-order confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis so that we can tell the moderating effects of parenting styles on the relation between Internet attitudes and Internet behavior by multi-group analysis. The result revealed that parenting styles have moderation effect on the relation between Internet attitude and “information security behavior”. Implications of the findings were discussed followed by the statistical analysis.