PROBLEMATIC USE OF INTERNET, DIGITAL GAMES AND SCREENS: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

The intensive use of the internet, electronic games, and digital technologies has become a central phenomenon in contemporary society, offering significant benefits while also posing relevant risks to mental health. This article aims to analyze the psychological and behavioral processes involved in the transition from functional internet use to problematic use patterns, with an emphasis on internet addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder. Based on a narrative review of national and international literature, grounded in cognitive-behavioral models and the Uses and Gratifications paradigm, the study discusses how initially adaptive gratifications may evolve into automated habits and deficient self-regulation of online behavior. Epidemiological data — particularly from the Brazilian context — are examined, along with psychosocial vulnerability factors, reinforcement mechanisms, habit formation, and the downward spiral of problematic use associated with emotional regulation and depression. The findings indicate that problematic internet use should be understood as a continuous and multifactorial phenomenon, characterized not merely by time spent online, but primarily by loss of control, centrality of online behavior, and functional impairments. The study concludes that early identification of risk factors and the psychological functions of technology use is essential for the development of effective prevention strategies and clinical interventions.