Online Behavioral Addictions Among Adolescents Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic changed people's lives and created a "new normal." It threatened individuals' mental health owing to reduced physical activity and social interaction, excessive indoor time, financial hardship, and insecurity. Moreover, the risk of online behavioral addiction increased in the general population, particularly among adolescents. The present study examined the differences between the pre-and post-pandemic periods regarding online behavioral addictions in adolescents. Methods The pre-pandemic data were obtained from 175 adolescents (August 2019 to February 2020) (T1). An online survey was sent to these participants to obtain the post-pandemic data (March to September 2022) (T2). Seventy participants completed the online survey (response rate: 40%). The participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale 9-Short Form (IGDS9-SF), and the Social Media Disorder Scale-Short Form (SMDS-SF) both before and after the pandemic. Results  Before the pandemic, females had significantly higher SMDS-SF scores compared to males (p = 0.005). On the other hand, males had higher IGDS9-SF scores than females before the pandemic (p