Social anxiety and internet use – A meta-analysis: What do we know? What are we missing?

The present meta-analysis quantitatively reviewed existing literature on social anxiety (SA) and internet use, examining the relationships between SA and three internet use variables: (1) feelings of comfort online; (2) time spent online; and (3) problematic internet use (PIU). In addition, it considered developmental level (age) as a moderator of the social anxiety-internet use relationship. We conducted a literature search using PubMed and PsycINFO databases. Our meta-analysis was based on 22 studies and included 13,460 participants. Results indicated that social anxiety (a) is correlated positively with feelings of comfort online, (b) is not correlated with total time spent online, email use and IM, but is correlated positively with time spent on gamming, and (c) is correlated positively with PIU. The study also found developmental level to be a moderator of the correlations between social anxiety and internet use variables. Research and clinical implications are discussed.