Internet use and emotional skills: A pilot study
Mario Antonio Reda, Elisa Baiocchi, Giulia Guidotti, Cristina Rigacci, Luca Canestri
The aim of this work is to analyse the habits of Internet usage and the relationship between Internet
addiction and emotional skills. For this study a convenience sample was carried out, 103 subjects
participated (mean age = 28.86), including 27 males and 76 females. A battery consisting of two
questionnaires, completed online through a specially created website, was administered to investigate
the habits of using Internet and the emotions connected to it, the Internet Addiction Test and the 20-
item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.
With regard to the habits and emotions connected to surfing the net, the results were heterogeneous.
As regards the relationship between Internet addiction and emotional skills, the difficulty in identifying
feelings seems to be affected by the excessive use of the web and Internet Addiction. A meaningful
difference furthermore emerged between M and F about operational thinking and the rejection of social
life, while no meaningful differences regarding age emerged among the three clusters.
The sample group seem to make appropriate use of the web: the participants were most interested in
looking for information and/or means of entertainment, even if the most commonly used applications
are those that maintain friendships and are used to communicate with others. Difficulties at an
emotional level result, in quality and quantity, as being strongly connected to dysfunctional ways of
web usage, especially in males and in older participants.
Keywords
Internet addiction, Emotions, Alexithymia.
