The shield of the screen: The role of anger on the development of social media addiction and internet gaming disorder

Fiammetta Iannuzzo; Clara Lombardo; Maria Catena Silvestri; Fabrizio Turiaco; Giovanni Genovese; Caterina Rombolà; Carmela Mento; Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello; Antonio Bruno; Fiammetta Iannuzzo; Clara Lombardo; Maria Catena Silvestri; Fabrizio Turiaco; Giovanni Genovese; Caterina Rombolà; Carmela Mento; Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello; Antonio Bruno

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2024051

AIMS Public Health

2024, Volume 11, Issue 4: 1002-1012. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2024051

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Research article Special Issues

The shield of the screen: The role of anger on the development of social media addiction and internet gaming disorder

1.
Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
2.
Department “Scienze della Salute”, University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy
3.
Psychiatry Unit, Polyclinic Hospital University of Messina, Messina, Italy

Received: 23 April 2024 Revised: 21 June 2024 Accepted: 05 July 2024 Published: 24 September 2024

This study aims to explore if the dimensions of anger can be risk factors for the development of social media addiction and an internet gaming disorder, considering that the correlation between anger and these specific subcategories of internet addiction can represent a core intervention in their prevention and treatment. 477 subjects, recruited among the general population, were assessed on-line by the following tools: STAXI–2; BSMAS, and IGDS9–SF. A correlation analyses showed a significantly positive relationship between the total score of the BSMAS and the STAXI–2 scales SANG (p < 0.0001), TANG (p < 0.0001), AX–O (p = 0.003), and AX–I (p < 0.0001), and between the total score of the IGDS9–SF and the STAXI–2 scales SANG (p = 0.002), TANG (p < 0.0001), AX–O (p = 0.001), AX–I (p < 0.0001), and AC–O (p = 0.004). A linear regression model showed how TANG and AX–I were direct predictors of the BSMAS total scores, and how AX–I was a direct predictor of the IGDS9–SF total scores. It appears plausible that there is a significant correlation between the dimensions of anger and the emergence of social media addiction and internet gaming: internet usage may serve as a coping mechanism for emotional or social challenges and as a protective screen to deal with negative emotions.
- internet addiction,
- social media addiction,
- internet gaming disorder,
- anger
Citation: Fiammetta Iannuzzo, Clara Lombardo, Maria Catena Silvestri, Fabrizio Turiaco, Giovanni Genovese, Caterina Rombolà, Carmela Mento, Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello, Antonio Bruno. The shield of the screen: The role of anger on the development of social media addiction and internet gaming disorder[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2024, 11(4): 1002-1012. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2024051

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Abstract

This study aims to explore if the dimensions of anger can be risk factors for the development of social media addiction and an internet gaming disorder, considering that the correlation between anger and these specific subcategories of internet addiction can represent a core intervention in their prevention and treatment. 477 subjects, recruited among the general population, were assessed on-line by the following tools: STAXI–2; BSMAS, and IGDS9–SF. A correlation analyses showed a significantly positive relationship between the total score of the BSMAS and the STAXI–2 scales SANG (p < 0.0001), TANG (p < 0.0001), AX–O (p = 0.003), and AX–I (p < 0.0001), and between the total score of the IGDS9–SF and the STAXI–2 scales SANG (p = 0.002), TANG (p < 0.0001), AX–O (p = 0.001), AX–I (p < 0.0001), and AC–O (p = 0.004). A linear regression model showed how TANG and AX–I were direct predictors of the BSMAS total scores, and how AX–I was a direct predictor of the IGDS9–SF total scores. It appears plausible that there is a significant correlation between the dimensions of anger and the emergence of social media addiction and internet gaming: internet usage may serve as a coping mechanism for emotional or social challenges and as a protective screen to deal with negative emotions.

Acknowledgments

This study is not funded by any agency and is being conducted by the authors independently.

Authors' contribution

Fiammetta Iannuzzo: conceptualization, writing – original draft, and writing – review & editing. Clara Lombardo: data curation, formal analysis. Maria Catena Silvestri: software and validation. Fabrizio Turiaco: software and validation. Giovanni Genovese: investigation and resources. Caterina Rombolà: investigation and resources. Carmela Mento: visualization, data curation and formal analysis. Maria Rosaria Anna Muscatello: visualization, supervision, and writing – review. Antonio Bruno: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing – review & editing.

Conflict of interest

Fiammetta Iannuzzo, Giovanni Genovese, and Antonio Bruno are the guest editors for special issue of AIMS Public Health and was not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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