Teenagers addicted to the internet are more prone to aggressive behavior than normal teenagers, Taiwanese researchers recently announced.
Researchers studied 9,405 Taiwanese teenagers, and found that all who were said to be addicted to the internet were more likely to be aggressive towards their peers -- more likely to admit to hitting, shoving or threatening their peers within the past 12 months.
Of the 9,405 participants, 25 percent of male teenagers and 13 percent of female teenagers were believed to be official internet addicts. Thirty two percent of all males and 13 percent of girls admitted to engaging in aggressive behavior, though 37 percent of participants with internet addiction also engaged in aggressive behavior.
"Online chatting, adult sex Web viewing, online gaming, online gambling and [surfing the] Bulletin Board System(THATS US ) were all associated with aggressive behaviors," as teenagers would create the opportunity to "observe, experience and try aggressive behaviors [on the internet] resulting in positive outcome, [such as] identification in a group, being a hero or winning in games," researchers observed in the study.
"It could be that using the internet causes people to behave more aggressively or it could be that aggressive people seek out the internet," according to Brad Bushman, University of Michigan psychology professor. "Or some other third factor could cause both -- people with poor social skills don't have any friends, so they spend a lot of time on the internet and can't resolve conflicts in non-aggressive ways."
internet aggression aka source
Researchers studied 9,405 Taiwanese teenagers, and found that all who were said to be addicted to the internet were more likely to be aggressive towards their peers -- more likely to admit to hitting, shoving or threatening their peers within the past 12 months.
Of the 9,405 participants, 25 percent of male teenagers and 13 percent of female teenagers were believed to be official internet addicts. Thirty two percent of all males and 13 percent of girls admitted to engaging in aggressive behavior, though 37 percent of participants with internet addiction also engaged in aggressive behavior.
"Online chatting, adult sex Web viewing, online gaming, online gambling and [surfing the] Bulletin Board System(THATS US ) were all associated with aggressive behaviors," as teenagers would create the opportunity to "observe, experience and try aggressive behaviors [on the internet] resulting in positive outcome, [such as] identification in a group, being a hero or winning in games," researchers observed in the study.
"It could be that using the internet causes people to behave more aggressively or it could be that aggressive people seek out the internet," according to Brad Bushman, University of Michigan psychology professor. "Or some other third factor could cause both -- people with poor social skills don't have any friends, so they spend a lot of time on the internet and can't resolve conflicts in non-aggressive ways."
internet aggression aka source