Browsing by Subject "Ongelmallinen digitaalisen teknologian käyttö"

Goals. The aim of this study was to investigate how problematic use of digital technology is associated with school well-being and general psychological well-being of middle school students. The data was collected as part of the Bridging the Gaps research project, which examines students' diverse learning habits, use of digital technology, and well-being. The study examined associations between problematic use of digital technology and three dimensions of well-being: school engagement, school burnout, and depressive symptoms. Previous research has shown that there is a link between school burnout and depressive symptoms, but no similar link has been found with school engagement. The purpose of this study is to complement and strengthen previous knowledge of the phenomenon and contribute to the ongoing discussion about the terminology and methods in this rapidly changing research field. Methods. The data for the study was collected from comprehensive schools in Helsinki in the autumn of 2019. The participants (N=674, 55.9 % girls, 41.5 % boys, 2.2 % other, 0.3 % missing) were seventh graders. Associations between problematic use of digital technology, school engagement and burnout, and depressive symptoms were examined using linear regression analysis. Gender differences were further investigated using variance analysis. Results and Conclusions. In this study, problematic use of digital technology was statistically significantly associated with all dimensions examined. The association to school-engagement was negative. There were no gender differences in academic motivation, however, the link between school burnout and depressive symptoms was stronger among girls compared to boys. The results support previous research concerning the associations between problematic use of digital technology and well-being of young people. In the future, more diverse and conceptually consistent research on this topic is needed.