Investigating the differential effects of social networking site addiction and Internet gaming disorder on psychological health

TLDR

Prior studies have examined SNS addiction and IGD separately, yet the simultaneous differential effects of these addictions on psychological health remain largely unknown. The study aimed to determine how SNS addiction and IGD uniquely and jointly contribute to psychiatric distress while controlling for sociodemographic and technology-related factors. The authors surveyed 509 adolescents (53.5 % male, mean age 13.0 yr) to assess the relationships between SNS addiction, IGD, and psychological health. Demographic factors explained SNS addiction and IGD, and both addictions amplified each other's symptoms and similarly worsened overall psychological health, with IGD exerting a slightly stronger detrimental effect.

Abstract

Background and aims Previous studies focused on examining the interrelationships between social networking site (SNS) addiction and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) in isolation. Moreover, little is known about the potential simultaneous differential effects of SNS addiction and IGD on psychological health. This study investigated the interplay between these two technological addictions and ascertained how they can uniquely and distinctively contribute to increasing psychiatric distress when accounting for potential effects stemming from sociodemographic and technology-related variables. Methods A sample of 509 adolescents (53.5% males) aged 10–18 years (mean = 13.02, SD = 1.64) were recruited. Results It was found that key demographic variables can play a distinct role in explaining SNS addiction and IGD. Furthermore, it was found that SNS addiction and IGD can augment the symptoms of each other, and simultaneously contribute to deterioration of overall psychological health in a similar fashion, further highlighting potentially common etiological and clinical course between these two phenomena. Finally, the detrimental effects of IGD on psychological health were found to be slightly more pronounced than those produced by SNS addiction, a finding that warrants additional scientific scrutiny. Discussion and conclusion The implications of these results are further discussed in light of the existing evidence and debates regarding the status of technological addictions as primary and secondary disorders.