Investigation of internet usage behavior and levels of problematic internet use in the context of psychological needs during late adolescence

This study aims to examine internet usage behaviors among students in late adolescence, with a particular emphasis on their engagement with social media platforms and digital games. Furthermore, the research investigates how psychological needs influence the levels of problematic internet use among female and male users in relation to their social media and digital gaming behaviors. The study sample comprises 656 students, including 484 females (73.8%) and 172 males (26.2%), who are first-year students enrolled in full- time faculties at Anadolu University or attending the preparatory program at the School of Foreign Languages. A mixed-methods research design, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches, was employed to conduct the study. The findings reveal that female students in late adolescence predominantly use social media applications, while male students engage with both social media and digital games. The average daily duration of social media usage for both female and male students ranges from 1 to 15 hours, whereas the time spent on the most frequently played digital games varies from 1 to 10 hours. Both female and male students primarily use social media and digital games for entertainment purposes. Regression analysis indicates that, among female social media users, the psychological needs for power and love are significant predictors of problematic internet use. In contrast, no significant relationship was observed between psychological needs and problematic internet use among male social media users. For both female and male students who use social media and digital games intensively, the need for power was identified as a significant predictor of problematic internet use. Keywords: Late adolescence, internet addiction, problematic internet use, psychological needs