Loneliness, Mindfulness, Daily Online Social Networking Time and Duration of Romantic Relationship with regard to Problematic Internet Use

The Internet has been part of our lives for almost three decades and it is not surprising that some individuals demonstrate problematic internet use behaviours. Problematic or excessive internet use is considered as one of the dysfunctional ways of avoiding social relations and using communication skills. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between Internet addiction, loneliness, mindfulness, duration of romantic relationships and daily social networking time in university students. The sample consisted of 388 university students and Young Internet Addiction Test-Short Form, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and Demographic Information Form were administered to the participants. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that %26.2 of variance in internet addiction was explained by loneliness, mindfulness, daily online social networking time and duration of romantic relationship on a monthly basis. Findings from this study might be helpful to clinicians and researchers for problematic internet use in young people and the prevention interventions