A study from the University of Surrey presents a new spectrum of internet addiction. Where are you on the scale?
According to a study from the University of Surrey, young people (24 years old and under) are connected to the internet for an average of six hours a day, mostly through their smartphones. Seniors (24 years and older) spend 4.6 hours online. The study, which involved 796 people, introduces a new spectrum of Internet addiction and divides Internet users into five groups:
- Casual users (14.86%): This group primarily connects for specific tasks and disconnects without renewing the connection. They show no symptoms of addiction and tend to be older, with an average age of 33.4 years. They are least interested in exploring new applications.
- First time user (22.86%): These people tend to stay online longer than originally planned and neglect housework to some extent, but do not consider themselves addicts. They have a moderate interest in applications and an average age of 26.1 years.
- Experimenters (21.98%): This group feels anxious or anxious when not connected to the internet. Once they connect, they feel better. Experimenters are more willing to try new apps and technologies, and their average age is between 22.8 and 24.3 years old.
- Negativity addicts (17.96%): These users exhibit addictive behavior, e.g. B. building new relationships online and neglecting real-world responsibilities to stay connected. However, they do not admit that they feel uncomfortable when they are not connected. They are also quite confident when using mobile technology.
- addicts (22.36%): This group openly admits their Internet addiction and recognizes its negative impact on their lives. They are the most confident when dealing with new applications and technologies. Their online time is significantly longer than that of occasional users.
Dr. Brigitte Stangl, lead author of the study from the University of Surrey, said: “Our main aim was to clarify the difference between problematic use of the internet and addiction to it.” We found that the more you are, the more likely you are to develop internet addiction you are younger and that this trend decreases with increasing age. “We also wanted to examine how the severity of internet addiction affects users’ experience with new high-tech applications such as augmented reality.”
The researchers found no connection between sex and online behavior. Additionally, higher levels of addiction were correlated with greater confidence in using mobile technology, particularly a greater willingness to try new apps.
The study also found that emotional experiences (the emotions felt when using an app) clearly predicted all groups’ future behavior when interacting with augmented reality. In contrast, action experiences (surfing a website or playing a game) were mostly irrelevant for addicts.
REFERENCE
Internet addiction continuum and its moderating effect on augmented reality application experiences: Digital natives compared to older users