The DOI matches its Crossref record; 149 of the 150 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Tracing 20 years of research on problematic use of the internet and social media: Theoretical models, assessment tools, and an agenda for future work
Open accessAbstract
Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in the impact of internet use and growing concern about whether problematic use of the internet (PUI) constitutes an addiction. Despite the growing number of studies investigating PUI and PUI subtypes, its conceptualization and inclusion in a classification system have not been possible yet. Several models aimed at inspiring clinical research and practice have proposed possible mechanisms involved in PUI and problematic use of social media, and multiple self-report instruments have been consequentially developed. The diversity of theoretical models and instruments currently hinders standardized assessment procedures across studies and, in turn, their comparability. The purpose of the present overview is to highlight the current conceptualization and assessment of both PUI and problematic use of social media, in order to critically discuss the existing fragmentation in the field and the need to achieve conceptual convergence. Two suggestions for future directions are also provided, i.e., define diagnostic criteria by bottom-up and top-down processes and develop a psychobiological hypothesis including the description of higher-order mechanisms involved in PUI and not other psychopathological conditions (e.g., the multiple available internet-related cues and outcomes that may lead to parallel forms of associative learning; probabilities of obtaining internet-related reinforcements; and intrinsic motivation processes).
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“PSMU and nomophobia both interfere with the lives of social media users, who continue to engage in their media habits despite the negative repercussions (Moretta et al., 2022).”
From Problematic use of social media in adolescents or excessive social gratification? The mediating role of nomophobia (2024) · cites this paper as Moretta et al., 2022
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“Therefore, social motivations aimed at maintaining interpersonal relationships, friendships, or links with peers in social networks (perceived as rewarding) play an important role in continuing unhealthy or problematic behaviors in the use of these media (González-Nuevo et al., 2021;Moretta et al., 2022;Varona et al., 2022).”
From Problematic use of social media in adolescents or excessive social gratification? The mediating role of nomophobia (2024) · cites this paper as Moretta et al., 2022
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Problematic social media use in childhood and adolescence
Montag, C., Demetrovics, Z., Elhai, J. D., Grant, D., Koning, I. M., Rumpf, H., Spada, M. M., Throuvala, M. A., & van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M. (2024) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.107980 · Cited by 207
Self-citationCurrent Advances in Behavioral Addictions: From Fundamental Research to Clinical Practice
Brand, M., Antons, S., Bőthe, B., Demetrovics, Z., Fineberg, N. A., Jiménez‐Múrcia, S., King, D. L., Mestre‐Bach, G., Moretta, T., Müller, A., et al. (2024) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.20240092 · Cited by 165
Self-citationFournier, L., Schimmenti, A., Musetti, A., Boursier, V., Flayelle, M., Cataldo, I., Starcevic, V., & Billieux, J. (2023) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107694 · Cited by 112
Assessing problematic use of social media: where do we stand and what can be improved?
Cataldo, I., Billieux, J., Esposito, G., & Corazza, O. (2022) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101145 · Cited by 90
Problematic Media Use among Children up to the Age of 10: A Systematic Literature Review
Rega, V., Gioia, F., & Boursier, V. (2023) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph20105854 · Cited by 113
Metadata
- Authors
- Moretta, T., Buodo, G., Demetrovics, Z., & Potenza, M. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Padua (IT)
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Moretta, Tania
- Venue
- Comprehensive Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 112
- Pages
- 152286
- ISSN
- 0010-440X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3208908485
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 150
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 13
- FWCI
- 24.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Comprehensive Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- ELTE Digital Institutional Repository (EDIT) (Eötvös Loránd University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- IRIS eCampus Telematic University (Università degli Studi eCampus) (submittedVersion)
- Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Dipartimenti di Eccellenza
- Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (art.1, Dipartimenti di Eccellenza (art.1, 314‐337)
- Università degli Studi di Padova
- Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università degli Studi di Padova
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office (KKP126835, K128614)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Keywords
- problematic internet use, social media addiction, internet addiction, theoretical model, assessment instruments, diagnostic criteria, conceptual convergence, associative learning, intrinsic motivation, reinforcement, classification systems
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Models, Theoretical, Motivation, Behavior, Addictive, Internet, Social Media
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