The dark side of internet: preliminary evidence for the associations of dark personality traits with specific online activities and problematic internet use

Kircaburun, K. ORCID: 0000-0002-8678-9078 and Griffiths, M.D. ORCID: 0000-0001-8880-6524, 2018. The dark side of internet: preliminary evidence for the associations of dark personality traits with specific online activities and problematic internet use. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7 (4), pp. 993-1003. ISSN 2062-5871

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Abstract

Background and aims: Research has shown that personality traits play an important role in problematic internet use (PIU). However, the relationship between dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, sadism, and spitefulness) and PIU has yet to be investigated. Consequently, the objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships of dark traits with specific online activities (i.e., social media, gaming, gambling, shopping, and sex) and PIU.

Methods: A total of 772 university students completed a self-report survey, including the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Scale, Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, Spitefulness Scale, and an adapted version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale.

Results: Hierarchical regression analysis and a multiple mediation model indicated that being male was positively associated with higher online gaming, online sex, and online gambling, and negatively associated with social media and online shopping. Narcissism was related to higher social media use; Machiavellianism was related to higher online gaming, online sex, and online gambling; sadism was related to online sex; and spitefulness was associated with online sex, online gambling, and online shopping. Finally, Machiavellianism and spitefulness were directly and indirectly associated with PIU via online gambling, online gaming, and online shopping, and narcissism was indirectly associated with PIU through social media use.

Discussion: Findings of this preliminary study show that individuals high in dark personality traits may be more vulnerable in developing problematic online use and that further research is warranted to examine the associations of dark personality traits with specific types of problematic online activities.

Item Type: Journal article
Publication Title: Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Creators: Kircaburun, K. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher: © Akadémiai Kiadó Zrt.
Date: 14 November 2018
Volume: 7
Number: 4
ISSN: 2062-5871
Identifiers:
NumberType
10.1556/2006.7.2018.109DOI
Rights: © 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated.
Divisions: Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by: Jill Tomkinson
Date Added: 26 Nov 2018 16:38
Last Modified: 08 Sep 2021 11:27
URI: https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/35136

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