Background: Although internet use can boost individuals’ quality of life in various aspects, activities on the internet (e g , gambling, video gaming, social media use, pornography use, etc ) can be used as coping strategy to deal with psychological stressors and mood states (e g , fear, anxiety, depression) particularly during the global COVID-19 pandemic Objectives: The present study assessed problematic internet use (PIU) among Bangladeshi youth and adults in Bangladesh and examined its correlation with lifestyle and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was utilized between May and June 2020 comprising 13,525 Bangladeshi individuals (61 3% male;age range 18–50 years;mean age 23 7 years) recruited from various online platforms The self-report survey included questions concerning socio-demographics, lifestyle, and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as psychometric scales such as the nine-item Internet Disorder Scale-Short Form (IDS9-SF) Results: Utilizing hierarchical regression analysis, problematic internet use was significantly and positively associated with those who were younger, having a higher level of education, living with a nuclear family, engaging in less physical exercise, avoiding household chores, playing online videogames, social media use, and engaging in recreational online activities Conclusions: Excessive internet use appears to have been commonplace during the COVID-19 pandemic period and young adults were most vulnerable to problematic internet use © 2020 The Authors
Problematic internet use among young and adult population in Bangladesh: Correlates with lifestyle and online activities during the COVID-19 pandemic