WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics
Print ISSN: 1109-9526, E-ISSN: 2224-2899
Volume 20, 2023
Behavioural Addictions in the Context of New Media
Author:
Abstract: New media are an integral part of modern society, and therefore an integral part of the lives of school-aged children. In recent scientific studies the term "digital natives of the technology age", refers to the immersion of school-aged children in media content within the new millennium. Existing scientific research is insufficiently focused on the study of behavioural addictions observed through the discourse of new media. Synthesizing the correlation of these claims, the focus of this study is on the impact of new media use on the occurrence of behavioural addictions during the pandemic in the period of 2021-2022 in the school-aged population. The research is based on a quantitative study of the length of daily use of new media and the impact on the mental health of school-age children (N = 200). The analysis of the obtained results of the survey conducted on a representative sample elaborates the hypothesis which claims that the pandemic affected the increase in the use of new media in the population of children. The perception of the occurrence of symptomatology belonging to the spectrum of behavioural dependencies of the mentioned population was also analysed, and the obtained results were compared. Consequently, the more hours children spend online playing video games, the more often negative symptoms such as helplessness, guilt and anxiety occur, as well as they distance themselves from social relationships and lose contact with friends and family. The scientific contribution of this paper is reflected in the analysis and comparison of the results obtained in Croatia with the results of similar research on the global level.
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Pages: 549-554
DOI: 10.37394/23207.2023.20.50