From lonely to addicted: exploring sex differences in the effect of online social support among university students in Hong Kong

TL;DR

The study explores how online social support affects internet addiction differently in male and female university students in Hong Kong.

Contribution

It reveals that online social support partially mediates the link between loneliness and internet addiction in males but not in females.

Findings

Perceived online social support partially mediates the relationship between loneliness and internet addiction in males.

Online social support is positively correlated with internet addiction in both males and females.

The study highlights the need for gender-sensitive approaches in online support programs for internet addiction.

Abstract

Internet addiction, a growing issue in young adults post-pandemic, especially among Asian males, is linked to various negative outcomes. Loneliness significantly influences internet addiction, but the underlying psychosocial mechanism remains unclear. This study examined the mediating role of online social support between loneliness and internet addiction with a focus on sex differences.

A cross-sectional online survey of 213 university students (105 males and 108 females), recruited through convenience sampling, examined loneliness, internet addiction, and perceived online social support.

No significant moderation effect of sex on the direct or indirect path between loneliness and internet addition. Perceived online social support partially mediated the positive association between loneliness and internet addiction only in males [standardized β = 0.07, bootstrapped SE = 0.04, bootstrapped 95% CI (0.01, 0.17)], but not in females [β = 0.03, bootstrapped SE = 0.03, bootstrapped 95% CI (−0.02, 0.11)]. On the other hand, perceived online social support was significantly and positively correlated with internet addiction in both sexes [standardized β = 0.27, bootstrapped SE = 0.10, 95% CI (0.07, 0.47)]. Our findings reveal a potential concern of online social support, which could be one of the underlying psychosocial factors contributing to a deeper reliance on the internet and further social withdrawal from the real world in males. This deserves more in-depth investigations regarding the influence of different types of online social support received or perceived through different online platforms and environments. The findings of this study have implications for how online social support is structured for individuals struggling with internet addiction, especially male individuals, and underscore the need for gender-sensitive design in future online support programs.

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