Behavioural Addictions in the Context of New Media

EVA BRLEK

University North,

Dr. Žarko Dolinar Square 1, Koprivnica,

CROATIA

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

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.

Key-Words: behavioural addictions, new media, pandemic, mental health, school-aged children.

and education as well as the use of the free time of

school-aged children. The new media were an

integral part of the daily life of children even before

the pandemic, however during and after the

pandemic, they began to significantly occupy a

considerable amount of time in their lives. As a

result of curfews, self-isolation, social distancing,

and quarantining children did not only change their

interaction with the new media but it also

considerably affected their social relationships and

the notion of mental health and behaviour patterns.

Therefore, observed through a broader social

definition, the question that should be addressed is

how the use of new media affects mental health of

children specially behaviour related addictions. The

aim of this study is to synthesize available scientific

research and to evaluate the significance attached to

new media leading to behavioural addictions among

the population of school-aged children in the

Republic of Croatia during the COVID-19

characteristics with addiction caused by a

psychoactive substance, [1], [2]. The most

frequently mentioned addictions are gambling

addiction, pathological overeating, hypersexual

disorder, compulsive shopping disorder, exercise

addiction, etc. covered by spectrum of disorders in

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental

disorders DSM 5 [3], however in this scientific

research, the emphasis will be on Internet addiction

and Internet/video games addiction, which are

pathological use of video games have also been used

to describe this phenomenon, [4], [5]. Because there

is insufficient evidence to establish the diagnostic

criteria needed to identify it as a separate mental

disorder, internet addiction is regarded as a

often with other players, leading to clinically

everyday life).

discontinued (e.g., irritability, anxiety, or sadness,

but no physical signs as in pharmacological

constriction).

3) Tolerance - the need to spend more and more

time playing games online.

4) Unsuccessful attempts to control participation in

online games.

5) The loss of interest in past hobbies and

entertainment, except for online games.

6) Constantly excessive participation in online

games despite learning about the existence of

psychosocial problems.

7) Lying to family members, therapists, or other

persons regarding the extent of online gaming.

spent on new media influences the rise of

behavioural addictions that often come in

comorbidity with other mental health difficulties.

Behavioural addictions are often combined with

anxiety disorders and mood disorders [6]. Many

authors also state that behavioural addictions often

serve as a means of sublimation to reduce unwanted

emotional states or to suppress overwhelming

emotions [6]. School-aged children are the most

activities, and less interest in active leisure time.

Behavioural addictions are in comorbidity with

other mental health problems such as anxiety and

depression in their research. Adolescents have been

called the “digital natives of the technology age”,

but their awareness, attitudes, and behaviour should

nevertheless be shaped and monitored [8], [9]. This

is especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic,

“normal” life after the crisis, which could negatively

2 Methodology

In the Republic of Croatia, there is no in-depth

research dealing with the influence of new media on

the occurrence of behavioural addictions in school-

aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The

aim of the research conducted for the purpose of this

paper was to explain the influence of time spent

using new media on the incidence of symptoms

from the spectrum of behavioural addictions. The

1. Symptoms of constriction when playing online

are discontinued.

2. Increased tolerance of time spent on new media.

3. Unsuccessful attempts to control participation in

online games.

4. The loss of interest in earlier hobbies.

5. Excessive participation in online games despite

learning about the existence of psychosocial

problems.

It took an average of 15 minutes to complete the

questionnaire. The questions were divided into two

categories; firstly, the personal characteristics and

behavioural characteristics of the respondents were

examined (age, preferred social networks, average

time spent on social networks, preferred devices).

The second category of questions examined

and the symptoms they perceived to have of

The sample of respondents (participants in the

research) consists of 200 primary school students (N

Table 1. Time spent on new media on daily basis

before the pandemic

the probability of the appearance of symptoms such

as more and more frequent thinking about playing

games earlier or planning about playing the next

game increases (p value = -1.0). With the before

mentioned behaviours, playing games on the

Internet becomes a dominant activity in everyday

life, which subsequently leads to difficulties in the

social-emotional functioning of the individual, and

creates a greater possibility for the development of

behavioural addictions. The results also show that in

withdrawal symptoms occur more often when the

hobbies, and the increasing entry into the virtual

experiencing negative emotions, which ultimately

significantly measures impact on mental health

difficulties (p value = 0.687). From Table 3, it can

be concluded that there is a correlation between the

amount of time spent on new media with an

emphasis on video games and time spent on social

networks with difficulties in the field of occurrence

of behavioural addiction symptoms. To combat the

COVID-19 pandemic, many governments have

implemented unprecedented measures, such as

social distancing, social isolation, curfews, and even

government-enforced large-scale quarantines. This

has resulted in technological tools becoming an

even more essential source of information,

behaviour. Regardless of the duration of technology

use, when the attitudes of females were negative,

their addictive behaviour was lower, and vice versa.

The results of the study indicate the difficulties of

self-control in children who are excessively exposed

to new media, which is confirmed by the results of

this research, with emphasis on increasing tolerance

for time spent on media content. According to the

results obtained in Tables 1 and 2, it can be seen that

the pandemic affected the increase in time spent on

regulatory strategies, [12], [13], [14], [15], [16],

coincide with the results of other recent studies

confirming that psychopathological elements occur

in children who are excessively exposed to new

media, regardless of the type of device they access

Internet content, while certain studies predominantly

emphasize access to Internet content via mobile, [5],

coincide with the results obtained by methods of

can be understood as a compensation for

and synthesis of the obtained results confirmed that

new media are an integral part of the everyday life

of school-age children, and the time spent on new

media increased significantly during the pandemic,

which can be partly explained by the duration of

online teaching and social isolation, as well as

playing online games in free time.

3 Conclusion

and time spent on new media is one of the predictors

of the occurrence of symptoms from the spectrum of

behavioural addictions. The time students spend

using social media and playing video games

significantly affects their mental health. According

to the results of the research, there is more isolation

and more pathological patterns of behaviour such as

lying, and hiding time spent on the Internet, which

in turn reduces live social contacts, and declines in

quality of life. What makes it difficult to ‘’identify’’

addictions are a relatively new construct, in the

future more attention will certainly be paid to the

prevention and detection of this addiction, and new

media as creators of "digital natives of the

technology age".

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