In recent years, the widespread prevalence of loneliness, materialism, and Internet addiction have been widely studied. Studies have addressed either loneliness or materialism and its relationship with Internet addict...In recent years, the widespread prevalence of loneliness, materialism, and Internet addiction have been widely studied. Studies have addressed either loneliness or materialism and its relationship with Internet addiction. However, to date, no study has addressed all three concepts in a single study. The purpose of this study was: 1) to investigate whether loneliness or materialism is a reliable predictor of Internet addiction and 2) what is the nature of the relationship among these variables across gender. Data were collected from a crosssectional online-survey, which consisted of US adults (N = 311). The survey consisted of 42 items related to the key constructs. Additionally, some demographic variables were also included in the survey. Loneliness was not associated with Internet addiction. On the other hand, materialism was strongly associated with Internet addiction. The aforementioned relationship was valid across gender. Between loneliness and materialism, materialism was a strong predictor of Internet addiction.展开更多
文摘In recent years, the widespread prevalence of loneliness, materialism, and Internet addiction have been widely studied. Studies have addressed either loneliness or materialism and its relationship with Internet addiction. However, to date, no study has addressed all three concepts in a single study. The purpose of this study was: 1) to investigate whether loneliness or materialism is a reliable predictor of Internet addiction and 2) what is the nature of the relationship among these variables across gender. Data were collected from a crosssectional online-survey, which consisted of US adults (N = 311). The survey consisted of 42 items related to the key constructs. Additionally, some demographic variables were also included in the survey. Loneliness was not associated with Internet addiction. On the other hand, materialism was strongly associated with Internet addiction. The aforementioned relationship was valid across gender. Between loneliness and materialism, materialism was a strong predictor of Internet addiction.