The Effect of Shyness on Adolescent Network Problem Behavior: The Role of Gender and Loneliness

With the latest, rapid developments of the Internet, young people have become the main group in the online world. Congruently, Internet problem behaviors have shown a significant growth trend among adolescents. The present paper explores the factors affecting adolescents’ problem network behavior from the perspective of their shyness, gender, and loneliness, and provides suggestions for guiding these young people toward using the network rationally. The study surveyed 5,130 teenagers from Shandong province in China to investigate the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between shyness and problem network behavior, and the mediating effect of loneliness on the moderating effect. The results indicated that the level of shyness among girls was significantly higher than that among boys, whereas the prevalence of cyberbullying, pathological Internet use, and Internet gaming disorder was significantly lower for girls than for boys. The relationship among shyness, cyberbullying, and Internet gaming disorder was found to be moderated by gender, and the problems of cyberbullying and Internet gaming disorder faced by shy boys were greater than those faced by shy girls. In addition, the moderating effect of gender on cyberbullying and Internet gaming disorder was found to occur through the mediating factor of loneliness. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical significance and generalizability of our research results.