Problematic internet use and shyness among Chinese adolescents: a moderated mediation model

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The potential adverse effects of problematic internet use (PIU) on individuals’ offline personalities have been a significant concern in internet psychology. This study aimed to investigate the negative effects of PIU on shyness and the mediating role of self-regulation, as well as the moderating role of social comparison orientation. A total of 1,322 adolescents from China participated in the survey. The results indicated that: (1) PIU positively predicted shyness; (2) self-regulation partially mediated the relationship between PIU and shyness; (3) social comparison orientation moderated the mediation effect, specifically buffering the negative prediction of PIU on self-regulation, but exacerbating the negative predictive effect of self-regulation on shyness. The findings explored and verified the psychosocial effects of the internet, contributing to a deeper understanding of how PIU affects individual personality traits and offering insights into its role in broader social behavior patterns.