PREDICTORS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SCREEN ADDICTION AMONG HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32689/2663-0672-2026-1-4Keywords:
screen addiction, internet addiction, screen time, digital anosognosia, medical students, escapism, adaptive digitalizationAbstract
Background. Due to widespread digitalization and the effects of chronic stress under martial law, the problem of excessive gadget use among youth has become a global concern. The study aimed to identify multifactorial predictors and behavioral markers of screen addiction among medical university students. Purpose – to identify multifactorial predictors and behavioral markers associated with the development of screen addiction among undergraduate medical students, taking into account gender-, age-, and content-related determinants of digital behavior. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional online survey of 171 medical students (76.6% female, 23.4% male) was conducted using adapted modules of the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Results. A strong positive correlation was found between total screen time and the level of addiction (r=0.620; p<0.001). Gaming activity emerged as the strongest predictor of addiction (r=0.692), whereas time spent on social media showed no statistically significant association with addiction (r=0.058). Men demonstrated significantly higher levels of gaming engagement and overall addiction, although total screen time did not differ between genders. The phenomenon of «digital anosognosia» is described for the first time: a negative correlation between the objective level of addiction and subjective self-assessment (r=-0.286; p<0.001). Conclusions. Screen addiction has a contentdifferentiated nature. Social networks perform a communicative function («adaptive digitalization»), while games act as the primary trigger of addictive behavior, accompanied by escapism and a progressive loss of self-criticism.
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