The Influence of Social Belonging on Adolescents' Internet and Phone Dependency

This study investigates the relationship between adolescents' perceptions of social belonging and their internet and phone dependency, using data from the Pew Research Center’s 2018 Teens and Technology survey. The research aims to determine whether adolescents who feel they fit in with their peers exhibit different levels of internet and phone dependency compared to those who do not. A latent variable for internet and phone dependency was constructed using factor analysis, and a regression model was employed to analyze the relationship between social belonging and dependency, controlling for variables such as gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Contrary to initial hypotheses, the study found no significant relationship between adolescents' perceptions of fitting in and their internet and phone dependency. However, gender was found to be a significant predictor, with female adolescents more likely to exhibit higher levels of dependency compared to males. The study also found that self-imposed screen time restrictions were not reliable indicators of dependency. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing internet and phone dependency should focus on psychological factors such as social anxiety and self-esteem, rather than peer integration. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on adolescent internet dependency and offers practical recommendations for stakeholders, including the need for gender-specific interventions and universal programs that address underlying psychological factors.