Breaking the Binary: Unveiling Gender-specific Norms in Internet Addiction

To the editor,

Internet addiction (IA) is an emerging behavioral addiction. Evidence supports several gender-specific variations in the purpose of Internet use^1–4. Males often show higher severity of IA than females ⁴ , though some contrary findings are also present, which explains that the relation between gender and IA is conflicting ¹ .

A study on Chinese adolescents ² found that IA leads to depression in females, whereas the relationship is reversed in males. A recent study on the Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) population of seven European countries revealed no difference in the pattern of Internet use, gaming, or gambling between heterosexual and homosexual men; however, there were variations in these behaviors among women with heterosexual or homosexual orientations ⁵ . Evidence supports the fact that the LGBTQ population primarily uses the Internet for information and social support ⁶ . Considering the enormous stress the LGBTQ community goes through and their inadequate social support, their tendency to seek social support and approval is expected to be high. It may further increase their chances of getting addicted to the Internet (social media, gaming, and other Internet resources) ⁷ . A systematic review revealed that pornography use is more prevalent in LGBTQ adolescents than in their heterosexual counterparts ⁸ . They use Internet pornography not only for sexual arousal and gratification but also to learn about sexuality and sexual identity ⁸ . Another study reported that, among LGBTQ communities, high internalized stigma and low perceived social support increase the risk of pathological social media use ⁹ .

When the cut-off scores for IA were estimated among the Nigerian population using Young’s Internet Addiction Test, the norms were set at ≥ 38.5 and ≥ 40.8 for males and females, respectively ¹⁰ . The Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version has different cut-off scores for smartphone addiction, which are based on gender (≥31 for males and ≥33 for females)^{11, 12}. However, research on IA has mainly focused on differences between males and females, leaving a gap in knowledge about the LGBTQ community. To better understand how IA affects LGBTQ individuals, it is crucial to establish a cut-off score for this population. Without this, researching IA among gender minorities would be difficult.