O uso problemático da internet e sua relação com bem-estar e inteligência emocional em diferentes gerações

Abstract

Problematic internet use has been discussed to understand its impact on users' mental health. This study investigated problematic internet use and its relationship with the perception of subjective well-being and emotional intelligence across generations. Participants included 165 individuals, divided into three generations: the first aged 18 to 26 (35.8%), the second aged 27 to 41 (29.1%), and the third aged 42 to 76 (35.2%). Participants completed an online form consisting of a sociodemographic questionnaire, followed by the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI), the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2 (GPIUS-2), and the Subjective Well-Being Scale (EBES). Due to non-normality, the Kruskal-Wallis test was applied, and when there was a significant difference, the Mann-Whitney test was used. For the correlational analyses, Spearman's nonparametric statistics were used, as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests showed that the data did not achieve normality. The data indicate that Generation Z had the highest scores for problematic internet use, as well as lower scores for well-being and emotional intelligence. In contrast, Generation X had higher scores for positive emotions and life satisfaction, as well as lower problematic internet use. The results confirm what was expected for each generation regarding the variables problematic internet use, emotional intelligence, and subjective well-being. All factors of the GPIUS-2 instrument showed a negative correlation with the "positive affect" and "life satisfaction" factors of the EBES instrument and a positive correlation with the "negative affect" factor. For the GPIUS and ICE instruments, all factors that showed a significant correlation were negative. The data obtained reinforce that in the three different generations, the constructs of well-being and emotional intelligence are affected differently by problematic internet use.