The effect of smartphone use on trends in European adolescents’ excessive Internet use
Keywords
excessive Internet use
mobile devices
adolescents
online games
socialnetworking sites
Europe
Publication details
| Year: | 2015 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/0144929x.2015.1114144 |
| Issued: | 2015 |
| Language: | English |
| Volume: | 35 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Start Page: | 68 |
| End Page: | 74 |
| Editors: | |
| Authors: | Škařupová K.; Ólafsson K.; Blinka L. |
| Type: | Journal article |
| Journal: | Behaviour & Information Technology |
| Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
| Topics: | Internet usage, practices and engagement; Wellbeing; Risks and harms |
| Sample: | The data used in this article come from two survey pro-jects. The data for 2010 come from the EU Kids Online survey (approximately 1000 Internet-using children aged 9–16, and one of their parents, in each of 25 Euro-pean countries). In this survey, the questions about EIU were asked of 11–16 year olds only (N7 countries= 5018). Data for 2013 come from the Net Children Go Mobile (NCGM) study of approximately 500 Internet-using children aged 9–16, in each of 7 European countries that participated in the survey. In NCGM, the questions about EIU were asked of all participants; however, only ages 11–16 were included in this analysis(N7 countries= 2645) to match the samples of both surveys. Only data from seven countries (Belgium, Denmark, Ire-land, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and the UK) that appear in both datasets were used for this analysis. (15) (PDF) The effect of smartphone use on trends in European adolescents’ excessive Internet use. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287444745_The_effect_of_smartphone_use_on_trends_in_European_adolescents%27_excessive_Internet_use [accessed Jun 14 2021]. |
| Implications For Stakeholders About: | Researchers |
Abstract
Despite growing public health concerns data on excessive Internet use (EIU) allowing for comparison between countries and over time are scarce. Our study is the first attempt to evaluate the changes and the impact of mobile access on EIU in Europe. It is based on data from 2 surveys of adolescents implemented in 2010 and 2013 in 7 European countries that used identical methodology; a total of 7663 adolescents were recruited by random stratified sampling.The levels of EIU were compared and a regression model was used to assess the impact of smart devices, the number of activities performed online, and the specific online applications. A small but significant increase of EIU levels was observed in Belgium, Denmark, Romania, the UK, and overall. Although smartphone use is a positive predictor of EIU, it is moderated by the increasing number of activities performed online. The increase in levels of EIU is also associated with thedaily use of online games and social networking sites.
Outcome
"A small but significant increase of EIU levels was observed in Belgium, Denmark, Romania, the UK, and overall. Although smartphone use is a positive predictor of EIU, it is moderated by the increasing number of activities performed online. The increase in levels of EIU is also associated with thedaily use of online games and social networking sites." (Škařupová, Ólafsson, & Blinka, 2015, Abstract)
"The findings have shown a small, but statistically significant, increase in the levels of EIU in allcountries except Portugal, where a significant decline in EIU was observed between 2010 and 2013." (Škařupová, Ólafsson, & Blinka, 2015, p. 4)