The relationship of self-perception, personality and high school type with the level of problematic internet use in adolescents

Computers in Human Behavior 65 (2016) 501e507

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Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

The relationship of self-perception, personality and high school type with the level of problematic internet use in adolescents* a, * b € € Ebru Oztürk , Suna Kaymak Ozmen a b

Biruni University, Faculty of Education, Istanbul, Turkey Kafkas University, Faculty of Education, Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Kars, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 2 April 2016 Received in revised form 22 August 2016 Accepted 7 September 2016

As adolescents spend a substantial part of the day using internet, they constitute one of the risk groups for problematic internet use. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between problematic internet use and the self-perception, personality type, gender of adolescents, and how these relationships varied depending on the type of high school the students attended. This study was conducted with 771 students studying at Anatolian high schools, science high schools, arts high schools, vocational high schools for girls, vocational technical high schools, trade vocational high schools, and common high schools in the city of Kars, Turkey. In this study, 433 (56.2%) of the participants were girls, while 338 (43.8%) were boys. The forms, scales and questionnaires administered during the study included the Personal Information Form, the Problematic Internet Use Scale, the Self-Perception Scale for Adolescents, and Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis and the one way ANOVA test. The present study examined whether personality type (extraversion, neuroticism, lie and psychoticism), self-perception (romantic appeal, physical appearance, social acceptance/close friendship, behavioral conduct, athletic competence and job competence), gender, and duration of internet use can predict problematic internet use. Based on the study results, it was observed that gender, duration of internet use, lying type personality, neuroticism, psychoticism, romantic appeal, physical appearance and behavioral conduct were significant predictors of problematic internet use, while positive attributes such as extraversion, athletic competence, job competence, and social acceptance/close friendship were not. Moreover, it was determined that the type of high school led to significant differences with regards to problematic internet use among students, and that students at technical high school were more prone to problematic internet use. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Problematic internet use Adolescents Personality type Self-perception High school type

1. Introduction As the means and opportunities for accessing the internet have increased considerably, problematic internet use (PIU) has become a significant problem worldwide, especially among adolescents. Although it is suggested that problematic internet use causes dissonance in academic life, anxiety disorder, sleep deprivation, depression, and problems in the relationships with family and friends; there is still ongoing debate on whether problematic internet use should be accepted as a form of addiction (Ceyhan and

* A part of this article has been delivered as an oral presentation at ICITS (2015) International Computer & Instructional Technologies Symposium. * Corresponding author. € E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E. Oztürk), [email protected] € (S.K. Ozmen).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.09.016 0747-5632/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ceyhan, 2011; Solmaz, Belli, & Saygılı, 2011). For this reason, although problematic internet use is not yet officially considered as a disorder, it has been increasingly accepted in recent years as a behavioral problem, particularly among adolescents (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; Lenihan, 2007; Young, 2010). For example, Douglas et al. (2008) define problematic internet use as, “an individual's inability to control their urge of excessive internet use, which in turn leads to feelings of distress and functional impairment of daily activities”. Defining the same concept as “a rising tension or arousal experienced before internet use and a sense of relief or pleasure experienced after internet access”, Shapira et al. (2003) described this construct as an impulse control disorder and defined two main traits in individuals who are prone to problematic internet use. These traits were explained as “(1) excessive use of the internet for periods of time longer than planned, or a preoccupation with use of the internet that are

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experienced as irresistible,” and “(2) a preoccupation with the internet that starts to cause impairment in social, occupational and family relations”. In contrast to other researchers, Rice (2005) preferred to use the concept of internet addiction rather than problematic internet use, defining it as “an obsessive predisposition of internet use” that prevents the individual from continuing their daily life and shortens their duration of sleep. Based on these discussions, Ceyhan and Ceyhan (2014) did not use the commonly preferred term “internet addiction” to define the problems caused by internet use, or to describe its unhealthy usage. This is because the concept of internet addiction does not reflect the excessive use of internet accurately, and does not involve symptoms and behaviors such as physical deprivation, which are similar to those observed in chemical substance addictions. In support of this view, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) - the latest version of which was published in 2013 - does not contain a category for internet addiction, although it does define internet gaming addiction (Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2014). Furthermore, since there is no consensus in the literature on whether problematic internet use should be defined as a separate diagnostic category, using concepts such as problematic or excessive internet use instead of internet addiction seems to be more appropriate. Certain researchers, on the other hand, consider the concept of addiction appropriate, and associate internet addiction with excessively repeated online activities that are similar to the symptoms leading to substance abuse (Yellowlees & Marks, 2007). They highlighted that activities such as excessive online gaming (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012), excessive online gambling (Griffiths & Parke, 2010), and excessive use of social networking sites (van den Eijnden, Meerkerk, Vermulst, Spijkerman, & Engels, 2008) are fairly common. Adolescents, who view the internet as an indispensable part of their daily lives, constitute the most important risk group in terms of problematic internet use (Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2014; Lam, 2015). According to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), the most intense internet use in Turkey is observed among the youth between the ages of 16 and 24, with 73% of this age group being active users. The same data indicates that 91.7% of students in Turkey regularly use the internet (TUIK, 2014). Even though the internet - which, as mentioned above, is a particularly preferred pastime for young populations around the world and in Turkey may be beneficial for the development of adolescents when used properly, it may also be harmful for their development when used excessively, causing various psychological, physiological and social problems in school as well as in professional and family life (Greenfield & Yan, 2006; Lam, 2015). It is known that adolescents mostly use the internet to visit social networking sites, play games, send e-mails, listen to music, watch movies, chat, exchange information, and for entertainment purposes. Since the internet is a media which can be accessed rather easily and cheaply, internet use has rapidly spread among adolescents, leading to the argument that adolescents are represent the age group most adversely affected from problematic internet use (Greenfield & Yan, 2006). In this context, various studies in both national and international literature demonstrate that problematic internet use is significantly correlated with personality traits such as depression, introversion, low self-confidence, shyness and social anxiety (Amichai-Hamburger, 2002; Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010). These studies have also revealed a positive correlation between psychoticism and neuroticism and problematic internet use, although problematic internet use does not seem to be significantly related with other personality traits (Yao, He, Ko, & Pang, 2014; Yao et al., 2014). Furthermore, several studies have pointed out that adolescents with internet addiction are more prone to other

behavioral addictions such as substance abuse, excessive video gaming and pathological gambling (Ko et al., 2010). It has also been demonstrated that internet addiction is correlated with social anxiety and peer relationships (Zorbaz and Tuzgül Dost, 2014). In addition, various studies indicate that the time adolescents spend online, their type of school, and grade level are significant risk factors that affect internet addiction (Valkenburg, Schouten and Peter, 2005; Valkenburg & Peter, 2008). However, it should also be said that the relationships between problematic internet use, self-perception and the types of high school adolescents attend have not been examined at great length until now. 1.1. Purpose of the study The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between problematic internet use and the self-perception and personality type of adolescents, as well as demographic characteristics such as gender and the types of high school they attend. In this context, the research questions of this study were defined as follows: 1. Can personality type (extraversion, neuroticism, lie and psychoticism), self-perception (romantic appeal, athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance/close friendship, behavioral conduct/school competence and job competence), gender and duration of internet use significantly predict problematic internet use? 2. Can problematic internet use exhibit a statistically significant variation with respect to high school type? 2. Method The study was carried out according to a relational screening model. This model aims to determine the degree of covariation between two or more variables (Karasar, 2005). 2.1. Study group A total of 771 high school students attending high schools in the provincial center of Kars participated to this study. Average student age was 16 (lowest age ¼ 14, highest age ¼ 19). It was determined that 433 (56.2%) of the participants were girls, while 338 (43.8) were boys. The number of students who owned personal computers was 405 (52.5%), while the number of students who did not own a computer was 366 (47.5%. In addition, it was determined that 287 (37.22%) of the students accessed the internet from home, while 190 (24.64%) accessed it from school, 259 (33.59%) accessed it s, and 29 (3.76%) accessed it from a friend's home. from internet cafe Only 6 (0.77%) of the students were not able to access the internet. While the students' average time of internet use varied between 1 h and 78 h per week, the mean time spend on the internet was 6.67 ± 8.8 h per week. Of the study participants, 100 (13%) were attending common high schools, 106 (13.7%) were attending vocational high schools for girls, 103 (13.4%) were attending technical vocational high schools, 118 (15.3%) were attending fine arts high schools, 133 (17.3%) were attending trade vocational schools, 149 (19.3%) were attending Anatolian high schools, and 62 (8%) were attending science high schools. Before administering the study assessment tools, the purpose of the study was briefly explained to the students. The students were then asked to fill in the scales. 2.2. Data collection tools Personal Information Form: A personal information form was

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administered to the students as part of the data collection process, in order to obtain information about their demographic characteristics such as gender, age and type of high school, and also about their computer and internet access. To determine weekly internet access duration, the following open-ended question was asked: “About how many hours a week do you spend on the internet?” Problematic Internet Use Scale in Adolescents (PIUS-A): Developed by Ceyhan and Ceyhan (2009, 2014), this scale consists of three dimensions (negative results, social benefits/social convenience, and excessive use of the internet) and 27 items. The scale does not aim to diagnose “internet addiction”, but to measure problematic internet use behavior. In this context, high scores on this scale indicate that the individual's internet use is unhealthy, and that the individual is not only negatively affected by the internet, but also prone to an addiction-like pathology. It explains 49.35% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was determined as 0.93 (Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2014). For the study group, the alpha value of the scale was calculated as 0.91. Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents: Harter's SPPA (SelfPerception Profile for Adolescents) scale was adapted to Turkish by Eren Gümüs¸ (2010). The Cronbach's alpha subscale coefficients calculated for the internal consistency reliability of the scale ranged between 0.56 and 0.78, while the r values estimated for the testretest reliability ranged between 0.93 and 0.60 for the subscales. The profile includes 30 items (11 of which are reverse coded), and measures 6 independent domains of the self-concept in Turkish adolescents, i.e. romantic appeal, athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance/close friendship, behavioral conduct/school competence and job competence, validly and reliably (Eren Gümüs¸, 2010). For the study group, the alpha value of the scale was calculated as 0.72. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A): The EPQR-A developed by Eysenck, Eysenck and Barrett was adapted to Turkish by Karancı, Dirik, and Yorulmaz (2007). The scale consists of four sub-dimensions, which are extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and lie, and 24 items. Internal consistency coefficients of the scale for extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and lie domains were determined as 0.78, 0.65, 0.42 and 0.64, respectively. To evaluate the structural validity of the scale with respect to other scales, the relationship between “EQPQR-A Abbreviated Perceived Parenting Attitudes-Child Form”, “Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale” and “Fear Screening Inventory” were assessed, and it was observed that the results supported the structural validity of the scale (Karancı et al., 2007). For the study group, the alpha value of this questionnaire was calculated as 0.77. 2.3. Procedure The homogeneity and normal distribution of the data was examined, and their suitability for parametric statistical analysis techniques was determine. Multiple linear regression analysis was then used to evaluate whether personality type (neuroticism, psychoticism, lie and extraversion), self-perception (romantic appeal, physical appearance, social acceptance/close friendship, behavioral conduct, athletic competence and job competence), gender and duration of internet use were significant predictors of problematic internet use. On the other hand, whether problematic internet use varied with respect to the type of high school was evaluated using unidirectional variance analysis (ANOVA). Tukey's HSD test was employed for post-ANOVA multiple comparisons. 3. Results Results regarding personality type, self-perception, gender

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and duration of internet use: Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze whether personality type, self-perception and duration of internet use can predict problematic internet. Table 1 shows that personality type explained 11% of the variance on its own, while including self-perception into the model explained 17%, and including duration of internet use and gender in addition to self-perception and personality type explained 26% of the variance. Results of the regression analysis concerning the prediction of problematic internet use with personality types (lie, extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism), self-perception, gender and duration of internet use are given in Table 1. An examination of pairwise correlations between problematic internet use and the predictive variables revealed that problematic internet use has a moderate negative correlation with lying personality type (r ¼ 0.26); a very low correlation with extraversion (r ¼ 0.023); a positive correlation with neuroticism (r ¼ 0.14); and a positive correlation with psychoticism (r ¼ 0.17). As indicated in Table 1, examination of the correlations between problematic internet use and the sub-factors of self-perception revealed that problematic internet use has a positive correlation with romantic appeal (r ¼ 0.18); a positive correlation with athletic competence (r ¼ 0.06); a negative correlation with physical appearance (r ¼ 0.14); a negative correlation with social acceptance (r ¼ 0.04); a negative correlation with behavioral conduct (r ¼ 0.26); and a negative correlation with job competence (r ¼ 0.03). Duration of internet use (r ¼ 0.32) and gender (r ¼ 0.23), which were included in the regression model along with personality type and self-perception, had positive correlations with problematic internet use. Taken together; personality type (lie, extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism), self-perception (romantic appeal, athletic competence, physical appearance, social acceptance, behavioral conduct, job competence), duration of internet use and gender had a more than moderate and significant correlation with problematic internet use (R ¼ 0.51, R2 ¼ 0.26, p < 0.01), and explained 26% of its total variance. According to the standardised regression coefficient (b), the order of importance of significant predictors of problematic internet use was as follows: duration of internet use, lying personality type, romantic appeal, behavioral conduct, physical appearance, psychoticism, neuroticism, athletic competence, social acceptance, extraversion and job competence. The t-test results concerning the significance levels of regression coefficients revealed that duration of internet use, gender, lie, romantic appeal, behavioral conduct, physical appearance, psychoticism and neuroticism were statistically significant predictors of problematic internet use. Extraversion, athletic competence, social acceptance and job competence, on the other hand, did not have a significant impact on problematic internet use. 3.1. Results regarding high school type The study also examined whether problematic internet use in adolescents varied significantly according to the type of high school type. The scores that the high school students received from the problematic internet use scale varied significantly depending on the type of high school they attended (Table 2). Study results indicated that technical high school students (Х ¼66.85 ± 19.62) had a significantly higher PIU (Problematic Internet Use) score than students in all other types of high schools (F(6, 769) ¼ 6.86, p < .01). PIU scores of students attending other high school types were estimated as (Х ¼55.26 ± 17.58) for common high schools; (Х ¼51.86 ± 18.41) for vocational high schools for girls; (Х ¼58.22 ± 17.36) for fine arts high schools; (Х ¼54.75 ± 17.46) for trade vocational high schools; (Х ¼56.98 ± 20.30) for Anatolian high schools; and (Х ¼56.04 ± 18.91) for science high schools. These

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Table 1 Results of the multiple linear regression analysis for determining the predictors of problematic internet use in adolescents.

Constant Personality type Lie Extrovert Neuroticism Psychoticism Self-perception Romantic appeal Athletic competence Physical appeal Social acceptance Behavioral conduct Job competence Duration Duration of use (hours) Gender

B

Standard error

59.4271*

2.953

3.136 0.162 1.209 2.076

0.434 0.386 0.402 0.619

0.766 0.377 0.816 0.283 1.018 0.273 0.532 4.95

b

t

p

20.058

0.000

Pairwise r

Partial R

0.251* 0.040 0.104* 0.118*

7.232 1.165 2.865 3.354

0.000 0.077 0.002 0.001

0.263 0.023 0.143 0.172

0.146 0.003 0.111 0.120

0.160 0.237 0.225 0.196 0.257 0.297

0.182* 0.056 0.135* 0.052 0.145* 0.032

4.791 1.589 3.629 1.440 3.965 0.918

0.000 0.113 0.000 0.150 0.000 0.359

0.178 0.058 0.153 0.039 0.258 0.041

0.171 0.058 0.131 0.052 0.143 0.033

0.070 1.36

0.248* 0.129*

10.071 3.60

0.000 0.000

0.323 0.226

0.267 0.130

Model-1 (personality types) R ¼ 0.32 R2 ¼ 0.11 (p < 0.001) F(4,765) ¼ 22.34. Model-2 (personality types þ self-perception) R ¼ 0.42 R2 ¼ 0.17 (p < 0.001) F(6,759) ¼ 10.33. Model-3 (personality typeþself-perceptionþduration of Internet useþgender) R ¼ 0.51 R2 ¼ 0.26 (p < 0.001) F(2,757) ¼ 101.424. *p ¼ .01.

Table 2 ANOVA results on problematic internet use levels of adolescents according to high school type.

Problematic internet use

Source of variance

Sum of squares

sd

Mean squares

F

p

Significant difference (Tukey's HSD)

Between groups Intra-group Total

14084.32 261861.12 275945.32

6 765 771

2347.12 342.40

6.86

0.000

TechHS-ComHS TechHS-VHS for girls TechHS-TradeHS TechHS-AnoHS TechHS-SciHS TechHS-FineArtHS

Tech.HS: Technical High School. ComHS: Common High School. VHS for girls: Vocational High School for girls. TradeHS: Trade High School. AnoHS: Anatolian High School. SciHS: Science High School. FineArtHS: Fine Art High School.

results indicate that internet use habits of technical high school students are more problematic than the internet use habits of students attending common high schools, vocational high schools for girls, fine arts high schools, trade vocational schools, Anatolian high schools and science high schools. 4. Discussion Although the internet is gradually becoming more important in the sharing and accessing of information, especially among adolescents, it is known that the internet has both positive and negative effects. This fact draws attention to adolescents, who are under severe risk in terms of problematic internet use. Due to the characteristics of their developmental period, the risk of internet use becoming unhealthy or problematic is rather high among adolescents (Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2014). In this respect, demographic characteristics (gender, high school type) and duration of internet use, which were assumed to be related with problematic internet use, were addressed within the scope of the study. Moreover, we also examined whether personality types (extraversion, neuroticism, lie and psychoticism) and self-perception can predict problematic internet use. The study results indicated that personality type, selfperception, school type, gender and duration of internet use were, in general, significant predictors of problematic internet use. According to the study results, it can be suggested that adolescents attending technical vocational high schools are more prone to

problematic internet use. Furthermore, it can also be said that having lying, neurotic and psychotic personality types; perceiving oneself as romantically appealing; being unsatisfied with one's physical appearance; not exhibiting appropriate behavioral conduct; and gender were predictors of problematic internet use. In addition, the study results demonstrated that extroversion, athletic competence, social acceptance and job competence did not have a significant correlation with problematic internet use. The study revealed that gender was a significant predictor of problematic internet use, and it was determined that male adolescents spend more time online than females, thus scoring significantly higher in the Problematic Internet Use scale. This result was similar to the findings of Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK, 2014) report which pointed out that the rate of internet use among males between 16 and 24 years of age was 82.8%, while the rate of internet use among females in the same age group was 63.2%. Moreover, Bayraktar and Gün (2007), Çelik and Odacı (2012), Günüç (2009) and Zorbaz (2013) described in similar studies that male adolescents were more prone to problematic internet use. Based on an evaluation of these results, it can be stated that the differences in gender roles might explain the significant correlation between the adolescents' problematic internet use and gender. As such, it can argued that problematic internet use among males is more prevalent than females, as the former show greater interest in technology and spend more time with different forms of computer technologies such as video games (Zorbaz, 2013). Furthermore, this observation might also reflect the fact that male adolescents are

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more comfortable in revealing themselves in internet environments than female adolescents (Santrock, 2012). However, there is no consensus on which gender figures more prominently in the risk group for problematic internet use (Chang & Law, 2008). Soule, Shell, and Kleen (2003) found that women are more prone to problematic internet use, while Chou and Hsiao (2000) described that men are more prone to problematic internet use. Furthermore, there are also results indicating that differences between genders in terms of internet use behaviors are becoming less distinct, largely because internet access has become easier and internet usage behaviors have diversified in recent years (cited by Ceyhan, 2011; from Gross, 2004). The study results revealed that the most important predictor of problematic internet use was the duration of internet use. Various other studies support this finding by noting that the time adolescents spend online is an important risk factor for internet addiction; these studies also emphasise that there is a positive correlation between the time spent online per week and problematic internet use (Günüç, 2009; Valkenburg & Peter, 2008; Yang & Tung, 2007). The self-perception and personality type of adolescents, who perceive the internet as a significant part of their social lives, are also variables that may be closely related with problematic internet use. Based on an evaluation of findings from previous studies regarding self-perception, it can be said that adolescents who perceive themselves as romantically appealing are more prone to problematic internet use. However, the significant negative correlation between physical appearance and problematic internet use may also be interpreted as an indication that adolescents who are not satisfied with their physical appearance are more prone to problematic internet use. The appearance of primary and secondary sexual characteristics and rapid physical growth that occurs during adolescence - which is considered as a transitional period between childhood and adulthood - lead to a rapid change in adolescents' appearance, which in turn causes them to have a strong interest in their physical appearance. Furthermore, based on the “imaginary audience” perspective (an element of adolescent egocentrism), adolescents assume that other people are also interested in their physical appearance as much as themselves (Santrock, 2012). In conjunction with this, physical self-esteem in adolescence - i.e. what adolescents think about their appearance is deemed the most important estimator of overall self-esteem (Steinberg, 2007); hence, satisfaction with physical appearance is particularly important. It can be suggested that adolescents who are not satisfied with their physical appearance may resort to the internet as a compensation mechanism to improve their physical self-esteem, which is an important estimator of overall self-esteem. Especially through social media tools such as Facebook and Instagram, which provide the opportunity to share photos and videos, adolescents are able to share their images that show their physical appearances better than they actually are, in which they “try to match up with” their ideal physical appearance. Based on the study results, it is also possible to state that adolescents who find themselves romantically appealing are more predisposed to problematic internet use. The romantic appeal subdimension aims to measure adolescents' emotions and selfperceptions on whether they are romantically appealing to persons they are interested in; on whether they are sociable and interesting to their peers of opposite sex they date with lu & Güzeller, 2012); and on their relationships with the (S¸ekerciog opposite sex, which becomes important in adolescence. The high level of internet use of adolescents with scores in this subdimension can be interpreted as a reflection of the popular trend of experiencing romantic relationships through social media. The idea that romantic relationships can be maintained through the

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social media renders the internet even more tempting for adolescents who want to attract their peers' attention. Although various studies have shown that adolescents tend not to establish romantic an, & Yılmaz, relationships through Facebook (Eks¸i, Erden, Erdog 2013), it can be assumed that the social media provides a suitable environment for adolescents who find themselves romantically appealing to flirt with peers of the opposite sex. Another important finding of the present study was the negative and relatively high correlation between the sub-dimension behavioral conduct and problematic internet use. The behavioral conduct factor describes how happy an adolescent is with his or her behaviors compared to others; how properly he or she behaves; and to what extent he or she behaves as expected and avoids getlu & Güzeller, 2012). The negative corting into trouble (S¸ekerciog relation between behavioral conduct and problematic internet use implies that adolescents who are not satisfied with their behavioral conduct are more prone to problematic internet use. In other words, this may imply that adolescents who do not perceive their behaviors as being proper and adequate, and who think that they constantly get themselves into trouble, see the internet as an escape. They thus use the internet to compensate for the deficiency in their self-perception, and consequently spend more time online. Therefore, these adolescents find the opportunity to behave as their ideal self in the internet environment, away from the critical eyes of their families and social environment. It can be said that, in contrast to the “family and social environment that criticise, question and constantly give advice because of their behaviors; ” winning recognition through posts, photos and videos they share online make adolescents feel better and improve their self-esteem. In addition to this, keeping in touch via the internet with peers with whom the adolescent have common interests may nurture the feeling of belonging to a group, which is important in adolescence. This may have caused adolescents who are criticized for not behaving properly or as expected, and who are unsatisfied with their behavioral conduct in the outside world, to spend more time online. In the present study, we examined whether personality type (lie, extroversion, neuroticism, psychoticism) predicted problematic internet use, and it was determined that lie, neuroticism and psychoticism were significant predictors of problematic internet use. On the other hand, it was also determined that extroversion did not have a significant effect on problematic internet use. This finding might be interpreted as an indication that individuals who have personality types categorised under the neuroticism, psychoticism and lie sub-dimensions are more prone to problematic internet use. This might be due to the fact that neurotic individuals who experience difficulties in face-to-face communication, who prefer to keep away from social environments, and who have a strong ability to investigate a subject in-depth Pis¸kin, 2004), feel more comfortable with online communication than face-to-face communication. In support of this interpretation, AmichaiHamburger and Ben-Artzi (2000) described that neurotic individuals used the internet more often in order to overcome the feeling of loneliness. Furthermore; Amichai-Hamburger, Wainapel, and Fox (2002) emphasised that since the form of communication established via internet is flexible enough to enable the individual to control what he/she would say, and to allow him/her to respond at any time he/she wants, it may encourage and facilitate neurotic individuals to chat online. On the other hand, it was determined that adolescents with the psychotic personality type - which is associated with aggression, distantiation, antisocial behavior and insensitivity towards others (Karancı et al. 2007) - spent more time online. Individuals who score higher in this sub-dimension are defined as “selfish, aggressive, distant, cold, inconsiderate, indifferent towards others and to their rights and well-being in general”

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(Burger, 2006). It is not very realistic to expect individuals with such personality traits to draw interest in social life. It can be suggested that psychotic individuals, who are likely to experience difficulties in face-to-face communication, would prefer to together with people with whom they can communicate only in a virtual environment. It is possible that they meet with people who most likely share similar personality traits in common platforms. Moreover, it is expected that psychotic individuals' tendency for aggression might transform into cyberbullying on internet. The study results indicated that the lie sub-dimension was also a significant predictor of problematic internet use. Perhaps one of the most important discussions concerning the internet - and especially the social media - is about individuals' tendency to misrepresent themselves through social media (as being more beautiful, more attractive, more successful, smarter etc.). Presenting themselves as the person they want to be, and as the person they idealize, may not be too surprising for adolescents, who are in search of an identity. An adolescent who perceives the virtual environment as a scene might be trying to find an identity by assuming various roles in this environment. In fact, Balkaya Çetin and Ceyhan (2014) determined in their study that adolescents most frequently acted as “someone smarter,” or as an “imaginary character” while using the internet. However, adolescents may tend to act unreliably under romantic situations, while dating with someone or spending time with classmates. It is also more likely that they wear a mask while they are with their close friends, compared to the times they spend with their parents. Ironically, “false self behavior” - the situation when the individual knows that his or her behavioral conduct is unreliable - arises less often when the individual is with his/her parents compared to when he/she is with a girlfriend or boyfriend. In fact, although adolescents occasionally claim that they hate false self behavior, they also admit that there are times when it is acceptable; for example, individuals may act as such when they are trying to impress someone else or hide a feature that others dislike (Steinberg, 2007). Problematic internet use and lying personality trait can be considered in this respect for adolescents. Another finding of the present study was that the extrovert personality trait was not a significant predictor of problematic internet use. Eysenck explains individuals' state of extroversion or introversion with the level of the stimulation of brain, which remains rather stable throughout lifetime. Extrovert individuals seek to elevate their brain stimulation levels by being in crowded or noisy environments or at a party. Furthermore, extrovert individuals establish more social relations and have more friends. Therefore, they prefer face-to-face communication more than online communication (Burger, 2006). Another outcome of the study was that adolescents attending technical vocational high schools had a greater average problematic internet use score than adolescents attending other types of high schools. This finding suggests that the type of high school which adolescents attend is a significant variable in determining problematic internet use. Although there are limited findings in the literature on the correlation between high school type and problematic internet use, a number of previously-conducted similar studies were identified (Ceyhan, 2011; van Rooij, Schoenmakers, van de Eijnden and van de Mheen, 2010). In a similar study, Ceyhan (2011) concluded that students enrolled in industrial vocational high schools, which is in the category of technical vocational high schools, were more prone to problematic internet use. Similarly, van Rooij, Schoenmakers, van de Eijnden, and van de Mheen (2010) also concluded that students attending vocational high schools in the Netherlands were more prone to problematic internet use than students attending high schools that provide preparatory college education. It was suggested that this might be

closely related with the fact that the academic achievement of students who attend technical high schools is perceived and considered by society as being lower. This perception originates from the fact that, in Turkey, students who get higher scores in placement tests performed at the end of secondary school, and who have higher academic achievement, usually attend Anatolian or science high schools, whereas those who score lower frequently get enrolled in technical high schools (Ceyhan, 2011). However, this result might have been affected from various individual and environmental factors such as the behavioral characteristics of students during elementary and secondary school years, their family characteristics, and the conditions of the school which they attend. Conducting new studies on the relationship between environmental factors and problematic internet use may contribute to a better understanding of the current research findings. Moreover, there is a need for preventive, protective and educational studies to ensure the development of adolescents (especially technical vocational high school students) as healthy internet users. Therefore, organising awareness-raising seminars and training programs for adolescents attending vocational high schools and their families should be encouraged. Furthermore, in order to reduce the duration of internet use, schools can be supported to raise student awareness, and to orientate them toward different activities such as sports, arts, etc. Besides, the Turkish education system needs to overcome the difficulties it has been experiencing in raising individuals equipped with the information literacy skills required for the 21st century. Therefore, all computer classes offered in high school programs should be updated according to these requirements so as to effectuate contents and programs that are oriented towards raising individuals who are not only capable of thinking in computer language, but also qualified and conscious in using the internet in a healthy and safe way. References American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association. Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2002). Internet and personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 1e10. Amichai-Hamburger, Y., & Ben-Artzi, E. (2000). The relationship between extraversion and neuroticism and the different uses of the internet. Computers in Human Behavior, 16, 441e449. Amichai-Hamburger, Y., & Vinitzky, G. (2010). Social network use and personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 1289e1295. Amichai-Hamburger, Y., Wainapel, G., & Fox, S. (2002). On the internet no one knows I'm an introvert: Extroversion, neuroticism and internet interaction. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 5(2), 125e128. _ Balkaya Çetin, A., & Ceyhan, A. A. (2014). Ergenlerin Internette kimlik denemeleri ve problemli internet kullanım davranıs¸ları. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions., 1(2), 5e46. Bayraktar, F., & Gün, Z. (2007). Incidence and correlates of internet usage among adolsecents in North Cyprus. Cyberpsychol Behavior, 10, 191e197. _ _ lu). Istanbul: Burger, J. M. (2006). Kis¸ilik (Çev. I.D.E. Sarıog Kaknüs Yayınları. Çelik, Ç., & Odacı, H. (2012). Kendilik algısı ve benlik saygısının problemli internet kullanımı üzerindeki yordayıcı rolü. E-Journal of New World Science Academy, 7(1), 433e441. Ceyhan, A. A. (2011). Ergenlerin problemli internet kullanım düzeylerinin lıg ı Dergisi, 18, 85e94. yordayıcıları. Çocuk ve Gençlik Ruh Sag €lçeg i Ceyhan, A. A., & Ceyhan, E. (2009). Ergenlerde problemli internet kullanım o € (PIKO-E) gelis¸tirme çalıs¸maları. Ekim. In The presented papers on X. Ulusal Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Kongresi. Turkey: Çukurova University. € lçegi’nin ergenlerde Ceyhan, A. A., & Ceyhan, E. (2014). Problemli internet kullanım o ımlılık Dergisi, 15, 56e64. geçerlik ve güvenilirlik çalışması. Bag Chang, M. K., & Law, S. P. M. (2008). Factor structure for young's internet addiction test: A confirmatory study. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 2597e2619. Chou, C., & Hsiao, M. C. (2000). Internet addiction, usage, gratification, and pleasure experience: The Taiwan college students' case. Computers and Education, 35, 65e80. Douglas, A. C., Mills, J. E., Niang, M., Stepchenkova, S., Byun, S., Ruffini, C., et al. (2008). Internet addiction: Meta-synthesis of qualitative research for the decade 1996e2006. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 3027e3044. van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., Meerkerk, G.-J., Vermulst, A. A., Spijkerman, R., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2008). Online communication, compulsive internet use, and psychosocial well-being among adolescents: A longitudinal study.

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