Problematic Internet Use Among US Youth - JAMA Pediatrics Author Interviews

Summary3 min read

Episode Overview

Podcast: JAMA Pediatrics Author Interviews
Episode: Problematic Internet Use Among US Youth
Guest: Dr. Megan Moreno, Schools of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Host: Jan Engmeyer
Date: September 5, 2011

This episode focuses on the emerging issue of problematic Internet use (PIU) among youth in the United States. Dr. Megan Moreno discusses her review paper on the subject, detailing the current state of research, how PIU is defined, and the challenges in measuring its prevalence and impact among adolescents and college students.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Problematic Internet Use (PIU)

Uncontrollable and Damaging Use: Dr. Moreno highlights the difficulty in defining PIU, given that Internet use is almost universal among youth. PIU is characterized by "Internet use that is uncontrollable and damaging," which includes both excessive use and unhealthy feelings toward Internet activity.
- Quote:
  
  "Internet use that is uncontrollable and damaging. So this is likely made up of both using the Internet too much as well as having feelings towards your Internet use that are not entirely healthy."
  — Dr. Moreno [00:25]

2. Historical Models and Assessment Tools

Modeled on Other Addictions: Early research often modeled PIU after substance use disorders and pathological gambling. There are numerous instruments for measuring PIU—at least 13 identified—some based on these theoretical frameworks, others created from scratch.
- Quote:
  
  "They often would model problematic Internet use on substance use and pathological gambling...there's at least 13. Some...have those theoretical bases. Some...are just made up from scratch."
  — Dr. Moreno [00:51]

3. Importance of Studying PIU

Growing Prevalence & Clinical Questions: With "about 93% of teens...online" in the US, PIU is a frequent clinical concern. Reported prevalence in studies varies widely, from 0% to 20%.
- Quote:
  
  "In the U.S. about 93% of teens are online...studies have tried to look at the prevalence...between 0% and 20%. So it seems to be a rising concern."
  — Dr. Moreno [01:16]

4. Findings from the Review Paper

Limited High-Quality US Research: The review sought to assess both study quality and prevalence rates in US adolescent and college populations. Though over 600 articles surfaced, only 18 met scientific criteria—and none involved US teens (all focused on college students). The studies showed a wide prevalence range (0% to 26%) and generally low quality, with most being relatively outdated.
- Quotes:
  
  "When you narrow that down to studies that actually used scientific methods, there were only 18 that qualified. And of those 18, there were none that were done in US teens."
  — Dr. Moreno [02:18]
  "The quality scores were quite low, and many of the studies were, by today's technology research standards, somewhat old. Many...were five years old or older. So it really showed us that there's a paucity of research in this area."
  — Dr. Moreno [02:54]

5. Recommendations for Future Research

Need for Consensus & Better Tools: Dr. Moreno advocates for developing a validated, clinically useful instrument to assess PIU prevalence and theorize its underpinnings. Better tools would enable clearer measurement, prevention, and treatment strategies.
- Quote:
  
  "We need to come to some consensus on a validated, really useful clinical instrument...that will help us then determine what are the appropriate steps to measure it and what are the appropriate ways...to prevent or treat it."
  — Dr. Moreno [03:15]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the ubiquity of Internet use:

"Internet use is so incredibly ubiquitous today among youth, particularly."
— Dr. Moreno [00:25]
On the research gap:

"There weren't that many studies out there that would meet criteria for a scientific study of problematic Internet use."
— Dr. Moreno [02:34]

Important Segment Timestamps

[00:11] — Initial definition of problematic Internet use
[00:51] — Historical models and measurement challenges
[01:16] — Prevalence rates and public health significance
[01:50] — Review paper methodology and findings
[03:15] — Recommendations and next steps for research

Summary Flow & Tone

Dr. Moreno discusses the still-evolving understanding of problematic Internet use among US youth, underscoring the challenges in both defining and measuring it. She points out the surprising lack of robust, recent data on American adolescents and calls for the development of consensus instruments and frameworks to propel the field forward. The tone remains conversational yet analytical, aiming to inform both clinicians and researchers about a pertinent, unresolved public health issue.

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Transcript15 lines

[00:00]
A
This is Jan Engmeyer with the Archives Journals. I'm speaking with Dr. Megan Moreno from the Schools of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Welcome, Dr. Moreno.
[00:11]
B
Thank you.
[00:12]
A
You're one of the authors on a review paper in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine called Problematic Internet Use among US Youth. Let's start with the basics. How do you define that term, problematic Internet use?
[00:25]
B
Well, it is a tricky question because Internet use is so incredibly ubiquitous today among youth, particularly. So thinking about what would turn that Internet use into problematic Internet use? Well, we would think about Internet use that is uncontrollable and damaging. So this is likely made up of both using the Internet too much as well as having feelings towards your Internet use that are not entirely healthy.
[00:48]
A
What other addictions has problematic Internet use been modeled on?
[00:51]
B
In the past, when early efforts began to look into this disorder, they often would model problematic Internet use on substance use and pathological gambling. But when you look at the range of instruments that have been designed to measure problematic Internet use, There's at least 13. Some of them have those theoretical bases. Some of them are just made up from scratch.
[01:13]
A
So why is problematic Internet use an important area to study?
[01:17]
B
Well, as we discussed before, Internet use is really quite ubiquitous among youth. We estimate in the U.S. about 93% of teens are online. And it's become an area where we're getting asked about whether or not Internet use has become problematic quite often in clinic. And some studies have tried to look at the prevalence of problematic Internet use and have found prevalences anywhere between 0% and 20%. So it seems to be a rising concern, but one in which we just don't have enough information to know how prevalent of a concern it is.
[01:48]
A
What are the major findings of your review paper?
[01:51]
B
In our review paper, we wanted to look at both study quality as well as reported prevalence among problematic Internet use. And we were looking at populations of U.S. adolescents and college students. So in this study, we really wanted to get a sense of what was the data. In US Studies, there's been a lot of problematic Internet use work done in Asian countries. We did not specifically examine that in this study. So in our search results, we found over 600 articles that came up as measuring problematic Internet use. But when you narrow that down to studies that actually used scientific methods, there were only 18 that qualified. And of those 18, there were none that were done in US teens. They were all done in college populations. So we really found that there weren't that many studies out there that would meet criteria for a scientific study of problematic Internet use, we also found a really wide range of prevalence, again between 0% in some studies and 26% in others. So it showed this wide range of data that seemed unusual, but also reflective of the idea that there's so many instruments out there. So when we evaluated the various studies using a quality check instrument, we found that overall, the quality scores were quite low. And many of the studies were, by today's technology research standards, somewhat old. Many of them were five years old or older. So it really showed us that there's a paucity of research in this area.
[03:12]
A
So what do you think the next steps should be for this line of research?
[03:16]
B
I think that we need to come to some consensus on a validated, really useful clinical instrument that we can use going forward to be able to get a better sense of the prevalence rates and a better sense of what are the theoretical underpinnings of this disorder. And that will help us then determine what are the appropriate steps to measure it and what are the appropriate ways that we can go about either preventing or treating it.
[03:37]
A
Is there anything else that you'd like to add that you think we haven't covered?
[03:40]
B
I don't think so. Thank you.
[03:42]
A
Well, thank you, Dr. Moreno, for talking with us about problematic Internet use among US Youth. This is Jan Engmeyer with the Archives Journals.