Far from the Future: Internet Addiction Association with Delay Discounting Among Adolescence

• Published in: International journal of mental health and addiction Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 1677 - 1696
• Main Authors: Qi, Huaiyuan, Bi, Cuihua, Kang, Qinhong, Wu, Qi, Wu, Daixuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Addictions; Addictive behaviors; Age; Child development; Cognitive ability; Community and Environmental Psychology; Decision making; Health Psychology; Impulsivity; Information processing; Internet; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Memory; Original Article; Perceptions; Psychiatry; Psychology; Public Health; Rehabilitation; Teenagers; Young adults; Delay discounting; Future self-continuity; Internet addiction; Age differences; Time perception
• ISSN: 1557-1874; 1557-1882
• DOI: 10.1007/s11469-022-00951-6

The rate of Internet addiction (IA), especially among adolescents, is rising dramatically. IA causes shortsightedness in adolescents, leading to delayed discounting. There is a negative correlation between delay discounting and intellectual development, interpersonal competence, and academic achievement in adolescents. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of IA on adolescent delay discounting remain largely unknown. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the relationship between IA and delay discounting in Chinese adolescents. The sample comprised 2245 adolescents (49.70% male; M ( SD ) age  = 14.86(2.18) years) completed questionnaires anonymously regarding IA, delayed discounting, time perception, and future self-continuity (FSC). The results after using Bootstrap method to test the moderated mediation model showed that (a) IA showed a positive association with adolescent delay discounting. (b) Time perception mediated the association between IA and delay discounting, and the effect was smaller in older adolescents. (c) FSC only moderates the relationship between IA and delay discounting in older adolescents. Specifically, the relationship between IA and delay discounting was weaker in older adolescents with higher FSC. These findings show that IA may distorts adolescents’ perceptions of future time, which affects delay discounting. We need to use more targeted intervention strategies to prevent and mitigate the effects of IA on delay discounting in adolescents of various ages.