THEORETICAL MODELS EXPLAINING PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

The extensive use of internet is raising important concerns especially as regards the potential for problematic use or addiction. Excessive use, preoccupation with the internet, and interference with everyday functioning represent some of the dimensions of problematic internet use, which have been empirically investigated across several countries. Research studies have been focusing on the identification of risk and protective factors across several age groups, but with particular focus on adolescents and young adults. Findings suggest that like other problematic behaviors, social factors are largely involved in problematic internet use; for instance aspects such as impression management, social likability, peer pressure, etc., have been largely investigated. Yet apart from the social dimension, problematic internet use might be also explicable in terms of self-medication models which suggest that individuals engage in problematic behavior mainly as a coping strategy, e.g., to manage anxiety (e.g., social phobia), relieve depressive feelings, manage real life social ostracism etc. The present review discusses existing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence on problematic internet use/addiction in order to determine the extent to which existing theoretical frameworks on problematic/addictive behaviors are useful in understanding this phenomenon.