The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the developement of problematic internet use

Korištenje interneta postalo je nezaobilazno u životu većine ljudi, no pandemija COVID-19 dodatno je potaknula porast njegovog korištenja, što može rezultirati većom prevalencijom problematičnog korištenja interneta i problema mentalnog zdravlja pojedinaca. Stoga, cilj ovog diplomskog rada je prepoznati i razumjeti utjecaj pandemije COVID-19 na korištenje interneta i mentalno zdravlje pojedinaca, kako bi se u budućnosti mogli razviti odgovarajući regulatorni okviri i mehanizmi za zaštitu korisnika u sličnim okolnostima te kako bi se smanjile negativne posljedice na mentalno zdravlje pojedinaca. U tu svrhu, proveden je sveobuhvatni pregled stručne i znanstvene literature te relevantnih istraživanja i izvora kako bi se istražio utjecaj okolnosti pandemije COVID-19 na korištenje interneta i mentalno zdravlje, s ciljem unaprjeđivanja socijalnopedagoške znanosti i prakse. Navedena metodologija omogućila je objektivan i sveobuhvatan uvid u istraživačko područje i omogućila prepoznavanje potencijalnih problema i donošenje relevantnih zaključaka. Tijekom pandemije COVID-19 primijećen je značajan porast uporabe interneta, posebno društvenih medija i online videoigara. Prevalencija problematičnog korištenja interneta tijekom pandemije također je porasla, a glavni prediktori za to su depresija, anksioznost, stres, usamljenost te nedostatak društvene podrške. Individualne razlike, pristup podršci, kvaliteta međuljudskih odnosa i opće mentalno zdravlje imaju važnu ulogu u oblikovanju načina na koji pojedinci reagiraju na pandemiju i koriste internet kao strategiju suočavanja. Svrha i motivacija za korištenje interneta važni su čimbenici koji utječu na psihološko blagostanje i ozbiljnost problema s korištenjem interneta. Važno je napomenuti da je prisutan značajan varijabilitet u rezultatima istraživanja, što dodatno ukazuje na kompleksnost ove problematike. Jedan od ključnih zaključaka ovog rada je da nedostatak konsenzusa u definiranju ovisnosti o internetu otežava istraživanje i razumijevanje problema, koji je sve učestaliji u suvremenom društvu. Stoga, ističe se potreba za daljnjim istraživanjima kako bi se bolje razumjeli uzroci i učinci problematične uporabe interneta u sličnim okolnostima, kao i važnost bavljenja ovom problematikom među stručnjacima pomažućih profesija.Nowdays, for most people, the usage of the internet is unavoidable. The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased internet usage, which might result in an even greater prevalence of its misuse and potentially affect the mental health of individuals. The goal of this masters' thesis is recognize and to discern the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the usage of internet and on the mental health of an individual, thus enabling the future development of applicable regulatory framework regarding the protection of the user in similar circumstances and to mitigate negative consequences on one's mental health. To that end, an extensive overview of the scientific literature and relevant research was conducted to discern the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the usage of internet and on the mental health, aiming at the further advancement of social and educational science and practice. The aforementioned methodology has enabled an extensive oveview of the field of research, while also enabling the recognition of the potential problems and the drawing of relevant conclusions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in the usage of the internet, especially on social media platforms and in online video games. Prevelance of the problematic use of the internet also increased during the pandemic with the main predictors being depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness, and a lack of scocial support. Differences among individuals, access to support, the quality of interpersonal relations and mental health in general play an important role in one's coping with the pandemic and how they use the internet in that regard. The purpose and motivation for using internet are important factors that influence the pychological wellbeing and severity of the problematic usage of internet. It is important to note that the results of the research vary, further highlighting the complexity of this topic. One of the crucial conclusions of this master's thesis is that the lack of consensus regarding the very definition of the internet addiction makes it difficult to research and to obtain understanding of this problem which is evermore prevalent in the modern society. Therefore, it is important to point out that additional research is needed in order to obtain deeper insight into the causes of the problematic usageof the internet in the similar circumstances, as well as the necessity of tackling this problem among experts from the adjacent branches of expertise