Online Relationships and Social Media Interaction in Youth Problem Gambling: A Four-Country Study

Iina Savolainen, Markus Kaakinen, Anu Sirola, Aki Koivula, Heli Hagfors, Izabela Zych, Hye-Jin Paek and Atte Oksanen
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Iina Savolainen: Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, 33014 Tampere, Finland
Markus Kaakinen: Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
Anu Sirola: Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, 33014 Tampere, Finland
Aki Koivula: Department of Social Research, University of Turku, 20500 Turku, Finland
Heli Hagfors: Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, 33014 Tampere, Finland
Izabela Zych: Department of Psychology, University of Córdoba, 14004 Córdoba, Spain
Hye-Jin Paek: Department of Advertising & Public Relations, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
Atte Oksanen: Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, 33014 Tampere, Finland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: The objective of this study was to examine if belonging to online communities and social media identity bubbles predict youth problem gambling. An online survey was administered to 15–25-year-old participants in the United States ( N = 1212), South Korea ( N = 1192), Spain ( N = 1212), and Finland ( N = 1200). The survey measured two dimensions of online behavior: perceived sense of belonging to an online community and involvement in social media identity bubbles. Belonging to an online community was examined with a single item and involvement in social media identity bubbles was measured with the six-item Identity Bubble Reinforcement Scale. The South Oaks Gambling Screen was used to assess problem gambling. Statistical analyses utilized linear regression modeling. According to the analyses, strong sense of belonging to an online community was associated with higher problem gambling, but the association was observed mainly among those young individuals who were also involved in social media identity bubbles. For those youths who did not indicate identity bubble involvement, online relationships appeared to function as those offline. Some differences across the four countries were observed but overall, the results indicate that social media identity bubbles could partly explain the harmful influence that some online relations have on youth behavior.

Keywords: problem gambling; online relationships; social media interaction; youth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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