30 hours a week on social media and the internet, and had lower self-esteem and higher levels of symptoms related to depression.
The findings were consistent with similar research, which showed that females listed social media as their primary source of their internet addiction, while males indicated pornography as their primary source.
Researchers reiterated the value of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, calling it a “psychometrically valid scale” that can be useful in academic environments to find out which adolescents are at risk for problematic social media use.
Internet addiction is not recognized by the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is used by the American Psychology Association to diagnose and classify mental disorders.
However, psychologist and author Kimberly Young, Ph.D., who has done extensive work related to internet addiction, said: “there is already talk and movements within the mental health field to make this happen.”
Author: Cesar Gamboa
Cesar Gamboa is a staff reporter and editor for Addiction Now covering topics ranging from legislation to scientific studies. He was previously a general assignment reporter for the Orange County Register. SoCal raised, lover of books, and avid mountain biker (when he wants to be). He can be reached at cesarg@addictionnow.com.
