Exploring different technology addiction types in young adults: a latent profile analysis

This study aimed to examine the different latent profiles of technology addiction in young adults, and the criteria for belonging to these profiles, in relation to sociodemographic factors (gender and SES) and technology use status (daily social network usage time, daily instant messaging usage time, daily online gaming usage time, daily website usage time, and connection location). Data were collected from a sample of 1,431 young adults [988 (69.1%) female, 443 (30.9%) male]. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify the latent profiles, and Multinomial Regression Analysis was employed to examine the relationships between the latent profiles and sociodemographic and technology use. The LPA revealed four latent profiles of technology addiction in young adults: “Non-Addicts (NA)”, “Moderate Technology Addicts-Gamers (MTAG)”, “High Technology Addicts-Non-Gamers (HTANG)”, and “High Technology Addicts-Gamers (HTAG)”. The criteria for belonging to these four profiles were statistically significantly related to sociodemographic and technology use factors, except for connection location, and age. These findings provided further support for our knowledge about planning programs or multi-layered intervention models to prevent technology addiction in young adults.