The effect of internet use behaviors on loneliness: the mediating role of real-life interpersonal communication

This study is to analyze in depth the effect of internet use on loneliness and its mechanism of action from the perspective of real-life interpersonal communication. A total of 1385 college students in China voluntarily participated in the survey. The results showed that (1) Loneliness and real-life interpersonal communication were significantly negatively related to online leisure behaviors and positively related to online information behaviors. Online social behavior was significantly negatively correlated with real-life interpersonal communication and insignificantly correlated with loneliness. (2) Online information behavior could indirectly and positively influence loneliness not only through real-life interpersonal communication [0.104, 0.434], but also through online leisure behavior and real-life interpersonal communication [-0.284, -0.057]. The study concluded that online social behavior is an ineffective social method for solving the problem of loneliness. Online information behavior on the one hand will provide support for real-life interpersonal communication and can serve to alleviate feelings of loneliness; On the other hand, online information behavior can induce online leisure behavior, which reduces real-life interpersonal communication and increases college students' loneliness.