Shyness and problematic internet use among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Figures & data

Figure 1. Search process flowchart.

Table 1. Summary of 35 studies including in systematic review

Reference	Country	Year	Study design	Sample Size	Shyness measure	Internet addiction measure	Age	Mediators
1* Ang et al.	Malaysia	2018	Cross-sectional	286	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Young’s Internet Addiction Test	15–30	Desire to avoid loneliness
2* Prievara et al.	Hungarian	2019	Cross-sectional	408	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	The Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire	14–24	Loneliness
3 ÖZTÜRK et al.	Turkey	2011	Cross-sectional	453	Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Problematical Internet Use Scale	NA	NA
4* Han et al.	China	2017	Cross-sectional	543	Revised Henderson undergraduate shyness scale	Leung’s Mobile Phone Addiction Index	17–22	Self-control and attachment anxiety
5* Odacı et al.	Turkey	2013	Cross-sectional	424	Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Problematic Internet Use Scale	17–23	NA
6* Huan et al.	Singapore	2014	Cross-sectional	681	SRS	GPIUS scale	14–15	Social anxiety
7* Thakur et al.	Pakistan	2020	Cross-sectional	120	Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Test	18–26	NA
8* OĞLU et al.	Turkey	2013	Cross-sectional	206	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Scale Young	15–18	NA
9* Chak et al.	China	2004	Cross-sectional	722	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	The short version of the Internet Addiction Test by Young	16–26	NA
10* Meena et al.	China	2021	Cross-sectional	250	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS)	21–25	NA
11* Eroglu et al.	Turkey	2013	Cross-sectional	601	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Problematic Internet Usage Scale (PIUS)	16–24	NA
12* Bian et al.	China	2014	Cross-sectional	414	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	The MPPUS	18–30	NA
13* Ezeh et al.	Southeastern Nigeria	2021	Longitudinal	232	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Test (IAT	16–35	NA
14* Witte et al.	United States	2007	Cross-sectional	88	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Online Cognition Scale	19.2	NA
15. Iranmanesh et al.	Malaysia	2019	Cross-sectional	348	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Scale	16–61	NA
16. Satici et al.	Turkey	2019	Cross-sectional	280	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale	17–25	NA
17* Ahmad et al.	Pakistan	2020	Cross-sectional	400	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Scale Young	18–24	NA
18. Ainin et al.	Malaysia	2017	Cross-sectional	1000	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Scale Young	21–39	NA
19* Huan et al.	Singapore	2014	Cross-sectional	1469	Social Reticence Scale (SRS)	GPIUS scale	14.56	Loneliness
20* Hong et al.	China	2018	Cross-sectional	1050	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Short form of mobile phone problem use scale	13–18	Social anxiety
21* Li et al.	China	2016	Cross-sectional	2758	5 items developed by Li (2012)	Internet Addiction Scale Young	10–19	Deviant peer affiliation
22* Chen	China	2021	Cross-sectional	593	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Mobile phone addiction index	19–24	Loneliness
23* Chen et al.	China	2021	Cross-sectional	699	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	The Mobile Phone Addiction Index	11–16	Basic psychological needs
24* Tian et al.	China	2018	Cross-sectional	291	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Chinese version of the Internet Addiction Scale	19.07	Loneliness
25* Tian et al.	China	2019	Longitudinal	1621	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Chinese version of the Internet Addiction Scale	21.68	Interpersonal relationships, loneliness, and maladaptive cognitions
26* Gao et al.	China	2018	Cross-sectional	5215	The Revised Henderson Undergraduate Shyness Scale	Generalized Pathological Internet Use Scale (GPIUS)	11–23	Loneliness, depression, and self-esteem
27* Yu et al.	China	2019	Cross-sectional	1320	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Test	12.51	Cognitive flexibility, self-regulation, self-inconsistency
28* Casale et al.	Italy	2011	Cross-sectional	157	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Generalized Pathological Internet Use Scale (GPIUS)	18–29	NA
29 Piko et al.	Hungary	2017	Cross-sectional	408	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Problematic Internet Usage Scale (PIUS)	14–24	Loneliness
30* Wang et al.	China	2022	Longitudinal	1825	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	The internet gaming disorder test (IGDT-10)	10–15	Depression
31 Ponnusamy et al.	Malaysia	2020	Cross-sectional	364	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Modified version of the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale	19–26	NA
32 Wiwik et al.	Indonesia	2021	Cross-sectional	101	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Smartphone addiction Scale Shorth Version	17	NA
33* Tian et al.	China	2021	Longitudinal	1047	Chinese version of the Henderson and Zimbardo shyness scale	Internet Addiction Scale	12.63	NA
34 Kim et al.	USA	2009	Cross-sectional	203	The Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale	Internet Addiction Test (IAT)	21.5	NA
35* Spensieri et al.	Italy	2019	Cross-sectional	131	Children’s Shyness Questionnaire	The Internet Addiction Test	10–15	Somatic symptoms

Note: * = studies included in the meta-analysis; study 1 and study 10 were identified as outliers. Age range provided for some studies, mean age for others.

Figure 2. Forest plot of shyness and problematic internet use.

Note: Each square on the forest plot represents the effect size estimate (e.g., odds ratio, standardized mean difference) for a specific study. Horizontal Line (Centered on the Square): The horizontal line extending from each square represents the confidence interval (CI) for the effect size estimate.

Table 2. Moderation analysis in the relationship between shyness and problematic internet use

	N	Mean ES	95% CI	Q	df	I^2	Z
Overall	25	0.275**	[0.24, 0.31]	189.65**	24	0.82
Age period
Adolescents	11	0.224**	[0.18, 0.28]	127.43**	10	0.87
Young adults	14	0.300**	[0.26, 0.34]	25.81*	13	0.47
Total between							−2.25*
Research design
Cross-sectional	20	0.253**	[0.22, 0.29]	145.93**	19	0.97
Longitudinal	5	0.311**	[0.26, 0.36]	11.79*	4	0.63
Total between							−1.80
Countries
Western countries	7	0.259**	[0.18, 0.33]	13.87*	6	0.59
Non-western countries	18	0.268**	[0.23, 0.30]	148.52**	19	0.83
Total between							−0.205
Publication year
2020–2022	7	0.264**	[0.22, 0.30]	9.70	6	0.42
Before 2020	18	0.266**	[0.22, 0.31]	151.8**	17	0.85
Total between							−0.06

Note: Mean ES = mean effect size; 95% CI = 95% Confidence Interval; Q = Cochran’s Q statistic; I² =I-squared statistic for heterogeneity; Z = Z-statistic (e.g., determine whether the observed effect size is statistically significant).

Figure 3. Funnel plot of shyness and problematic internet use.

Note: The figure demonstrates an absence of publication bias, revealing a balanced distribution of studies across the entire range of effect sizes.

Chen, Y., Gao, Y., Li, H., Deng, Q., Sun, C., & Gao, F. (2021). *shyness and mobile phone dependency among adolescents: A moderated mediation model of basic psychological needs and family cohesion. Children and Youth Services Review, 130, 106239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106239

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Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.