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Communication Research
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Preference for Online Social Interaction

A Theory of Problematic Internet Use and Psychosocial Well-Being

Scott E. Caplan

The model introduced and tested in the current study suggests that lonely and depressed individuals may develop a preference for online social interaction, which, in turn, leads to negative outcomes associated with their Internet use. Participants completed measures of preference for online social interaction, depression, loneliness, problematic Internet use, and negative outcomes resulting from their Internet use.Results indicated that psychosocial health predicted levels of preference for online social interaction, which, in turn, predicted negative outcomes associated with problematic Internet use. In addition, the results indicated that the influence of psychosocial distress on negative outcomes due to Internet use is mediated by preference for online socialization and other symptoms of problematic Internet use.T he results support the current hypothesis that that individuals’ preference for online, rather than face-to-face, social interaction plays an important role in the development of negative consequences associated with problematic Internet use.

Key Words: problematic Internet use • preference for online social interaction • computer-mediated communication • loneliness • interpersonal communication • face-to-face communication

Communication Research, Vol. 30, No. 6, 625-648 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0093650203257842
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