Internet Usage and Adolescents' Happiness

The internet has become pervasive among today's youth. It broadens access to information, enables new modes of contact, and acts as a platform for a plethora of online services in varied fields. It has evolved into a vital instrument for communication and social interaction during adolescence, a stage of life marked by increased social sensitivity (Blakemore and Mills 2014). More precisely, during adolescence, boys and girls undergo a series of biological, social, emotional, and cognitive changes that influence their behaviour (Hawkridge 2018), drawing them closer to technology in order to meet their emerging needs (Borca et al. 2015).

Furthermore, adolescents are among the earliest and most ardent consumers of internet technology (Taylor and Silver 2019). Besides providing youngsters with great intellectual skills, the internet also shapes their perceptions of their identity, relationships, and growth (Turkle 2011), which is critical for their psychosocial development. When it comes to the internet, adolescent users are the most vulnerable since they lack self-control, self-regulation, and cognition (Hoareau, Bagès, and Guerrien 2021). Their time spent on the internet has expanded significantly, especially for gaming, social networking, messaging, entertainment, education, and above all for addressing psychological needs (More 2012). This has reduced the time for face-to-face interaction. Online socialising doesn't genuinely fulfil an adolescent's social requirements, which can lead to negative effects if they spend too much time online (Shapka 2019). Emerging research links excessive online time to negative health outcomes for adolescents (Santesteban-Echarri et al. 2018), which include insufficient sleep (Li et al. 2017), psychological distress (B. N. Kim, Park, and Park 2017), loneliness (J. Kim, Larose, and Peng 2009), and suicidal ideation (Kwon, Kim, and So 2020; Padmanathan et al. 2018). As a result, the quality of life of these adolescents also declines (Shen and Williams 2011).

Thus, the mode of social connection switched from 'offline engagement' to 'online interaction', disrupting genuine social relationships and promoting fake virtual ones, which has had a negative impact on many aspects of adolescents' lives, including their happiness (Lee et al. 2014).

Adolescents' happiness is influenced by a variety of personal factors such as fun time, satisfaction of needs, level of religiosity, and social factors such as spending time with friends and family, supporting others in times of need, and sharing important moments with loved ones (Kaur and Chauhan 2021a). The factors of internet usage determining the happiness of adolescents is a subject explored less, particularly in developing countries, despite the fact that adolescents are the primary users of technology.

In this context, exploring the factors of Internet usage and the relationship between these factors and determining the impact of these factors on adolescents' happiness are the objectives of this research. This study aims to answer the following research question: ‘What aspects of internet usage affect the happiness of adolescents?’ So the present review will provide an overview of Internet usage and happiness. The review also tries to reveal the critical research gaps that must be filled by future scholars.

The review adhered to Arksey and O’Malley's (2005) guidelines for scoping reviews. Owing to the intricacy of the subject of happiness, scoping research was conducted (Mays, Roberts, and Popay 2001). From 1 January 2001 to 30 September 2021, the search terms 'Internet', 'computer', 'digital technology', 'adolescent', 'youth', 'teen', 'young people', 'happiness', 'well-being', 'wellbeing', and 'subjective well-being' were used in PubMed, Psych INFO, and Google Scholar. These keywords and Boolean operators were used to restrict the search results. The full-text examination papers were referenced in the manual searches, which resulted in the discovery of further publications. The review was limited to English-language records. Ultimately, 46 papers were included in the review of literature for consideration (Table 1). The selection diagram is depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1

The internet's rapid spread into key realms of our society over the last several years has aroused interest and concern about how different populations utilise it. While extensive research on internet use has been undertaken, very few studies have evaluated the factors of internet usage in relation to adolescents' happiness. This study was undertaken as happiness fluctuates greatly during adolescence and is most likely to be influenced by external factors (Harter 2012) such as internet use, which is most prevalent during this period of time.

Time spent on the internet includes both regulated hours used for academic purposes, such as educational and informative purposes, and unregulated hours used for non-academic purposes such as entertainment and communication during leisure time (Bayraktar and Gün 2007). Twenge, Martin, and Campbell (2018) have opined that unregulated use of the internet is connected with unhappiness, whereas its regulated use is associated with happiness and well-being. Likewise, adolescents' favourite time for using the internet is during their leisure hours (Twenge, Martin, and Spitzberg 2018), the prolific use of which is considered to be the most important factor for the happiness of adolescents (Kaur and Chauhan 2021b). This involvement is responsible for reducing the time available for sports and recreation (Vilhelmson, Thulin, and Elldér 2017). Adolescents who spend more than five hours on the internet during holidays are at an increased risk of self-harm (Lung et al. 2020), especially if gaming is the purpose of its usage (Mathers et al. 2009), thus preventing the person experiencing happiness (Yoo, Cho, and Cha 2014). Furthermore, adolescents may participate in aggressive online deeds, meetings, or talks with nefarious individuals without proper safeguards (Hoareau, Bagès, and Guerrien 2021). It indicates that unregulated internet usage for communication and entertainment outweighs controlled or regulated internet usage for information or knowledge among the youth, which is responsible for lowering their well-being (Bozzola et al. 2019). Suicidal thoughts in teens are also linked to excessive internet use (Kwon, Kim, and So 2020). Park (2015) asserted that using the internet for less than an hour per day for non-academic purposes had a favourable effect on teenagers' happiness. On the contrary, not using the internet at all is associated with unhappiness (Pénard et al., 2013; Twenge, 2019). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends less than two hours a day of internet usage by adolescents (Chassiakos et al. 2016).

One side of the argument claims that everyday usage of the internet for communication purposes makes social ties stronger, thereby reducing the depression, anxiety, and loneliness of the user (Rains and Young 2009) and enhancing their happiness (Gross, Juvonen, and Gable 2002). Furthermore, studies also suggest that internet users are frequently more sociable, both online and offline, than non-users (Shen and Williams 2011). On the other hand, adolescents who lacked social support spent more time online. (S.-Y. Park and Yang 2015). Thus, excessive use of internet does not affect time spent socialising with family and friends or volunteering (Vilhelmson, Thulin, and Elldér 2017). Internet use also encourages teenagers to express themselves and boosts their self-esteem by allowing them to create intimacy with the person with whom they connect, resulting in happiness. (Valkenburg and Peter 2009). Likewise, using online games for entertainment stimulate young people's imaginations by allowing gamers to benefit from opportunities that they may not have in the real world (Crowe and Bradford 2006). But the opposing side of the argument maintains that the excessive usage of the internet increases the chance of coming in contact with inappropriate content, which is a big challenge for teens' happiness and well-being (McDool et al. 2020). Nie et al. (2008) observed that the internet replaces face-to-face engagement with family and friends, which is detrimental to the well-being of adolescents (Longobardi et al., 2020; Michael and Micah, 2019; Sampasa-Kanyinga and Lewis, 2015). Similarly, the lack of real-life emotional contact may push some adolescents who are more likely to be depressed, unhappy, and socially isolated towards internet addiction (Mesch, 2001; van den Eijnden et al., 2008). Thus, unhappiness is strongly related to internet usage (Otsuka et al. 2020). Accordingly, the negative and the positive aspects (Hall, 2019; Ranieri et al., 2021) of internet usage go hand in hand. Several researches have also shown that there is no association between internet use and happiness (Crowe and Bradford, 2006; Jackson et al., 2004; Subrahmanyam and Lin, 2007). So the relationship between internet usage and happiness is rather complicated. Another factor affecting internet usage patterns is the purpose for using it, which varies from academic activities such as education and information/knowledge searching to non-academic activities such as leisure, entertainment, and connecting socially (C. Kim 2017). It has been found that, for many purposes, the use of the internet for entertainment, commerce, or for finding information is unrelated to happiness, but spending more time communicating, especially with family and friends, brings happiness by lowering depression and loneliness. (Kraut and Burke 2015). In contrast, spending time communicating with strangers, has been linked to a decrease in happiness (Kraut and Burke 2015). Another study conducted by Liu et al. (2019) found that although using the internet for communication purposes is favourably associated with happiness, using it for entertainment purposes adversely affects happiness. Contrary to these findings, some studies propose that using the internet for informational purpose is positively related to happiness (Hall, 2016; Hall, 2017; Hall, 2018) whilst using it for communication purposes decreases happiness (Jackson et al. 2004). Some researchers have shown that face-to-face interaction is more valuable for happiness as compared with online interactions (Cummings, Butler, and Kraut 2002) although others confirm that the intensity of using social media is positively related to life satisfaction (Valenzuela, Park, and Kee 2009). As adolescents grow older, the purpose of using the internet shifts from being educational to being communicative (Kilic and Güzeller 2017). So for the sake of satisfaction adolescents mostly use the internet for social purposes (Barker 2009), which is beneficial in obtaining social support during challenging times (Anderson and Jiang 2018). However, despite our expanding connectivity, we are becoming increasingly isolated (Techatassanasoontorn and Thaiprasert 2013). This may be the case, as it is widely believed that virtual contentment never results in real-world happiness (Wang et al. 2015). Regardless of the purpose, the internet usage is determined by the user's existing values, choices, goals, and presumption, among other factors (De Waal and Schoenbach 2010).

It has been noted that gender predicts the purpose of internet use, with male students preferring to use it for gaming while female students prefer to use it for social interaction (Kilic and Güzeller 2017). According to another view by Tsai and Tsai (2010), male students primarily use the Internet for exploratory purposes, whilst female students use it primarily for communication. Females use the internet for relational purposes, whilst males use it for social compensation and social identification, according to Barker (2009). In another study, Gross (2004) reported no significant difference between the purpose of internet usage by boys and girls, as both prefer to use it for social interaction.

The duration of daily time spent online determines the purpose of internet usage. Students who spend less than an hour on the internet per day use it for educational purpose, while those who spend more than four hours use it for communication purposes (Kilic and Güzeller 2017). Conversely, other studies suggest that daily time spent online has no effect on happiness, but it is only the purpose for using the internet that affects one's happiness (Valkenburg and Peter 2007). So the studies related to internet usage and happiness are quite inconsistent and inconclusive. The reason for this inconsistency is the mistake of considering internet usage as a unidimensional concept, though it is not (Baym, Zhang, and Lin 2004). Moreover, various studies used daily or weekly time spent on the internet as a benchmark for internet usage, which doesn’t take into account the different purposes for internet use, such as surfing, online chat, gaming, and so on (Valkenburg and Peter 2007).

Use of the internet has been a blessing for those who are introverted and shy. However, long-term internet use raises concerns about one's health. As a result, the risks of excessive internet use must be taken into consideration, particularly for adolescents who may become regular internet users in the future. Adolescents' well-being can be affected in both positive and negative ways by their participation in various online activities. Owing to a global pandemic that has spread to every country on Earth, internet use has become necessary. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teenagers have become even more engrossed in their smartphones, tablets, and laptops, which has resulted in an increase in the risk of addictive behaviour (Duan et al. 2020). Even with increased parental supervision and surveillance, the amount of time teenagers spend on the internet cannot be reduced (Ofcom 2021; Shapka and Law 2013). As a result, adolescent internet use has expanded dramatically. We cannot deny the grim reality that digital technology is here to stay. Since this rising technology is so readily available to adolescents, it is impossible to keep them away from it (Premsingh and Prajina. P.V, 2012).

Whilst research on the use of digital technology and its addiction amongst adolescents has increased over the last two decades, research on the usage of the internet in relation to adolescents‘ happiness has garnered less empirical attention. Additionally, research on internet usage has concentrated on the media side of it, with scant empirical evidence on the relative influence of non-social media objectives on adolescents‘ happiness. Although the negative aspects of internet use are emphasised, the positive aspects are overlooked. In light of this, new research efforts are needed to look at the interplay and redundant interactions between components instead of focusing on a single aspect.

Only a few studies used mixed methods, and the sample sizes of most studies were modest, as seen in Table 1. There was a variety of research that examined adolescent internet usage among the articles analysed. Numerous research studies did not employ validated software for quantitative analysis, such as SPSS, or for qualitative analysis, such as NVivo. There is still a dearth of research from developing countries. Apart from China and Thailand, all studies on the influence of internet use on teenagers reviewed here were conducted in developed countries. Nearly 80% of the empirical research examined used quantitative analysis, with 10% using longitudinal studies and only 8.69% using cross-sectional studies. A wide range of techniques and analytical tools are expected to yield productive findings in future research.

Many studies have focused on the relationship between adolescent happiness and internet use, particularly social media, in recent years. However, there is still a great deal of research to be done in this area. The purpose of this study was to identify the experimentally confirmed characteristics that influence the happiness of adolescents through internet use. The amount of time spent online and the purpose for which teens use the internet are two of the most important aspects of adolescent happiness on the internet. Adolescents‘ use of the internet can have a significant impact on their happiness when these two elements are taken into consideration.

According to a review of published studies, adolescents' use of the internet improves their sense of well-being and identity. The majority of research supports the positive effects of internet use on adolescents, such as the ability to express themselves, promote interpersonal communication, participate in leisure activities, and gain access to information. Cross-sectional studies also found a negative correlation between internet use and happiness. This is possibly because cross-sectional research yields false conclusions by restricting inferences to correlational findings (Kraut and Burke 2015). Some studies have failed to find a link between adolescent happiness and internet use because of small effect sizes or the use of self-reported measurements (Crowe et al., 2021).

The gaps discovered through literature analysis include a dearth of studies in this field from developing countries, a scarcity of studies using a mixed-methods research technique, and studies with a wider age range, which creates issues of representativeness and generalisability of the results. Additionally, internet usage is conceptualised only through the lens of social media, oblivious to other critical goals for its use. Although the literature reviewed indicated that time spent on the internet and the purpose for which it was used were independently related to adolescents' happiness, additional research is needed to determine whether there is a correlation between the purpose for which the internet is used and time spent online, and whether this interaction has an effect on adolescents' happiness.