Jon D. Elhai, Mojisola Tiamiyu and Justin Weeks
Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored transdiagnostic psychopathology constructs as mediators that may account for these relationships. The purpose of this paper is to test rumination as a possible transdiagnostic (cross-sectional) mediator in these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors recruited 296 college students to complete relevant web survey measures, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (for depression severity), social interaction anxiety scale (for social anxiety severity), ruminative thought styles questionnaire, smartphone addiction scale-short version (to measure levels of problematic smartphone use), and a measure of smartphone use frequency.
Findings
The authors found support for a structural model whereby the severity of depression and social anxiety accounted for variance in rumination, which, in turn, correlated with problematic smartphone use levels. Rumination accounted for relations between both depression and social anxiety severity with levels of problematic use.
Originality/value
The authors discuss the role of rumination as a possible mechanism between anxiety- and depression-related psychopathology levels with problematic smartphone use severity. This study is unique in exploring rumination in the context of problematic smartphone use.
Details
Keywords
Jon D. Elhai, Jason C. Levine and Brian J. Hall
Despite concerns about digital privacy, little is known about emotional distress about data hacking and surveillance incidents. The purpose of this paper is to examine variables…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite concerns about digital privacy, little is known about emotional distress about data hacking and surveillance incidents. The purpose of this paper is to examine variables predicting anxiety about data hacking, and the role that such anxiety and other potentially important variables have in explaining the use of digital privacy protection behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 305 participants from an online labor market were sampled who frequently use the internet, surveyed about recent anxiety (using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale (GAD-7)), anxiety about data hacking (GAD-7, in reference to data hacking), and issues of digital privacy: news exposure, perceived importance, self-efficacy, protection behavior, and previous hacking victimization.
Findings
Profession (information technology-related) moderated the symptom structure for recent anxiety, but not data hacking anxiety. Using structural equation modeling, prior hacking victimization predicted anxiety about hacking. Digital privacy protection behavior was related to hacking anxiety and privacy self-efficacy. Data hacking anxiety mediated relations between hacking victimization and privacy protection. Privacy self-efficacy mediated relations between news exposure to hacking incidents and privacy protection.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include the self-report nature of the instruments, and use of a selective, non-random sample.
Practical implications
Results highlight knowledge, self-efficacy, and threat appraisal among IT managers in motivating better digital security practices.
Originality/value
This is the first study using a standardized instrument of anxiety to examine distress about hacking and predictors of digital privacy protection behavior.
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Lei Zheng, Jon D. Elhai, Miao Miao, Yu Wang, Yiwen Wang and Yiqun Gan
Health-related online fake news (HOFN) has become a major social problem. HOFN can lead to the spread of ineffective and even harmful remedies. The study aims to understand…
Abstract
Purpose
Health-related online fake news (HOFN) has become a major social problem. HOFN can lead to the spread of ineffective and even harmful remedies. The study aims to understand Internet users' responses to HOFN during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic using the protective action decision model (PADM).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected pandemic severity data (regional number of confirmed cases) from government websites of the USA and China (Studies 1 and 2), search behavior from Google and Baidu search engines (Studies 1 and 2) and data regarding trust in two online fake news stories from two national surveys (Studies 2 and 3). All data were analyzed using a multi-level linear model.
Findings
The research detected negative time-lagged relationships between pandemic severity and regional HOFN search behavior by three actual fake news stories from the USA and China (Study 1). Importantly, trust in HOFN served as a mediator in the time-lagged relationship between pandemic severity and search behavior (Study 2). Additionally, the relationship between pandemic severity and trust in HOFN varied according to individuals' perceived control (Study 3).
Originality/value
The authors' results underscore the important role of PADM in understanding Internet users' trust in and search for HOFN. When people trust HOFN, they may seek more information to implement further protective actions. Importantly, it appears that trust in HOFN varies with environmental cues (regional pandemic severity) and with individuals' perceived control, providing insight into developing coping strategies during a pandemic.
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Emergent research suggests that compulsive social media usage (CSMU) has a correlational link with well-being. Previous research in this area primarily focused on the prevalence…
Abstract
Purpose
Emergent research suggests that compulsive social media usage (CSMU) has a correlational link with well-being. Previous research in this area primarily focused on the prevalence, dynamics and consequences of social media usage. However, the knowledge of these occurrences among school and university students is still in its infancy stage. This research study addresses the knowledge gap by investigating the nexus between fear of missing out (FOMO), phubbing, CSMU and well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
Cross-sectional surveys were conducted for collecting the data of school students and university students during COVID-19 when the exposure to the Internet and social media among the students had increased tremendously. Multivariate analysis and Moderated Mediated analysis techniques were performed to analyze the data using the structural equation modeling approach.
Findings
The results indicated that while on one side, students experience “FOMO”, on the other, they phone snub the individuals available to them to interact. FOMO significantly influences well-being; phubbing also has a significant impact on well-being; phubbing partially mediates the relationship between CSMU and well-being. However, for university students, the full mediation of phubbing in the relationship between CSMU and well-being was confirmed. It was also found that sleep fully mediated the relationship between CSMU and well-being.
Originality/value
This study provides novel highlights of the differential effects of FOMO, phubbing, sleep hygiene and well-being among the university and school-attending cohorts.
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Stephan Oliver Görland and Sigrid Kannengießer
This paper aims to unfold and emphasise the relevance of sustainability and time as research topics in media and communication research and discusses the relation of both…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to unfold and emphasise the relevance of sustainability and time as research topics in media and communication research and discusses the relation of both phenomena with a focus on processes of media appropriation and media consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The submission argues theoretically. Firstly, theories on sustainability and media and media and time are presented. Secondly, previous approaches from research on sustainable media use will be discussed. Finally, the authors call for a stronger accentuation of research on digital media, time, and sustainability.
Findings
The submission shows that previous research on sustainable media use does sufficiently take individual and social time experience into account. Moreover, research is too much focussed on the individual level. The authors therefore argue for three major conceptual changes in research on digital sustainability: time is a sustainable human resource; a shift of perspective from individual to relations is needed; and consideration of the cultural condition of capitalism is necessary.
Practical implications
This paper includes implications for the future research on digital media, time and sustainability.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one that connects perspectives on time with digital sustainability.