{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T02:50:16Z","timestamp":1792551016016,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":71,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,29]],"date-time":"2023-09-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1695945600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title><jats:p>Although numerous studies have investigated the association between problematic internet use (PIU) and social anxiety, the findings have no yet reached consistent. The present meta-analysis aims to examine the association between PIU and social anxiety within adolescents and young adults (age range: 14\u201324\u2009years old).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method<\/jats:title><jats:p>The meta-analysis systematically retrieved the studies prior to September 7, 2023 from Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, CNKI, and CQVIP. The meta-analysis based on random-effects model to conduct the research. Stata Version 17.0 and JASP 16.3.0 was used to analysis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The meta-analysis ultimately included 37 studies (37 effect sizes in total), involving a total of 36,013 subjects. Our findings indicated that the overall correlation between PIU and social anxiety was significant positive [<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic> =\u20090.333, 95% CI (0.292, 0.373), <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt;\u20090.001]. Their association was significantly moderated by publication year, measurement tools for PIU and social anxiety but not significantly by culture context, developmental level and gender.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>This meta-analysis suggests that social anxiety is a predictor of the development of PIU in adolescents and young adults. Furthermore, the study also finds the possibility that contemporary adolescents and youth may exhibit a more \u201cglobal\u201d behavior pattern, potentially emphasizing fewer differences between cultures, generations and genders.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1275723","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,29]],"date-time":"2023-09-29T13:22:47Z","timestamp":1695993767000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":60,"title":["The association between problematic internet use and social anxiety within adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and 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