Assessing online gaming and pornography consumption patterns during COVID-19 isolation using an online survey: Highlighting distinct avenues of problematic internet behavior.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aim

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has required drastic safety precautions to contain virus spread, involving a protracted self-isolation period. Those with greater perceived or actual life stress are vulnerable to develop problematic internet behaviors. Thus, we assessed how COVID-19 social isolation affected online gaming (OG) and pornography viewing (PV) in the general population.

Methods

We developed an online cross-sectional survey, Habit Tracker (HabiT), completed by 1,344 adults (≥18 years). HabiT was released internationally with individuals from 80 countries participating; a majority residing in the United States and United Kingdom. We measured changes in OG (IGDS9-SF) and PV (CYPAT) behaviors before and during the COVID-19 quarantine period. We

SUBMITTER: Sallie SN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8434429 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature