Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Sep;62(Suppl 3):S383-S390.
doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_1036_20. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Internet use during coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic: Psychiatric history and sociodemographics as predictors

Jelena Jovic  1 , Maja Pantovic-Stefanovic  2   3 , Marija Mitkovic-Voncina  3   4 , Bojana Dunjic-Kostic  2   3 , Goran Mihajlovic  5   6 , Srdjan Milovanovic  2   3 , Maja Ivkovic  2   3 , Andrea Fiorillo  7 , Milan Latas  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Internet use during coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic: Psychiatric history and sociodemographics as predictors

Jelena Jovic et al. Indian J Psychiatry. 2020 Sep.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and related containment measures have grossly affected the daily living and created a need for alternative ways of social communication and entertainment. The aim of this study was to explore the use of various Internet contents depending on sociodemographics and on psychiatric history of participants. This cross-sectional, population-based study is a part of a wider international multicenter study. A total of 1275 participants across Serbia (71.1% of females; average age = 41.81 ± 12.52 years) were recruited using two-level chain-referral sampling method. The participants filled in an anonymous online questionnaire that included questions on sociodemographic data, psychiatric history, and various aspects of increased Internet use since the pandemic. The data were analyzed using a series of multiple logistic regressions. About two-thirds of the sample reported using Internet more during the pandemic. All of the tested regression models, apart from models predicting browsing religion and travel/tourism, were significant, explaining from about 2% (for the contents specific for COVID-19) up to 34.4% (for the sexual content) of variance of use. Reporting a previously diagnosed psychiatric disorder was a significant predictor of greater Instagram use and browsing sexual and sport-related content since the pandemic. To the best of our knowledge, the study is the first to report on the relationship between Internet using and mental health, during COVID-19 pandemic, in the Balkan region. The findings showed various patterns of the increased use of Internet contents since the pandemic referring to both potentially positive and negative Internet influences.

Keywords: Coronavirus disease of 2019; Internet; mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Graph 1
Graph 1
Odds ratios in predicting the increased engagement in different Internet activities during the pandemic
Graph 2
Graph 2
Odds ratios in predicting the increased browsing of different Internet contents during the pandemic
Graph 3
Graph 3
Odds ratios in predicting increased Internet use during the pandemic and spending over 8 hours on Internet daily
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Király O, Potenza MN, Stein DJ, King DL, Hodgins DC, Saunders JB, et al. Preventing problematic internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Consensus guidance. Compr Psychiatry. 2020;100:152180. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. #HealthyAtHome. World Health Organization; 2020a. [Last accessed on 2020 Jul 13]. Available from: https:wwwwhoint/news-room/campaigns/connecting-the-world-tocombat- coronavirus/healthyathomehttps:wwwwhoint/news-room/campaigns/connecting-the-world-tocombat- coronavirus/healthyathome .
    1. World Health Organization. Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) Pandemic. World Health Organization; 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 Jul 13]. Available from: https:wwwwhoint/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019https:wwwwhoint/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 .
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Stress and Coping Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2020. [Last accessed on 2020 Jul 13]. Available from: https:wwwcdcgov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/copinghtmlhttps:wwwcdcgov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/copinghtml .
    1. World Health Organization. Mental Health and Psychosocial Considerations during the COVID-19 Outbreak. World Health Organization; 2020b. [Last accessed on 2020 Apr 13]. Available from: https:wwwwho int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerationspdfhttps:wwwwho int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerationspdf .

LinkOut - more resources