Meaning in Life and Loneliness: A Comparative Study between Adolescents with Internet Addiction and Normal Adolescents

Internet addiction is an increasingly prevalent issue in societies that directly impacts the lives of individuals, especially adolescents, with negative effects. The aim of this study is to compare the meaning in life and feelings of loneliness among internet-addicted adolescents and normal adolescents in the Torbat-e Heydarieh city. The research method employed was comparative and the statistical population consisted of first-year high school students in Torbat-e Heydarieh during the academic year 2021-2022. A total of 100 participants were selected from each group using convenience sampling. Standard questionnaires on meaning in life, feelings of loneliness, and internet addiction were used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The findings indicated that the average scores for the search for meaning and presence of meaning in life were lower in the internet-addicted group compared to the scores of normal individuals. This result suggests that adolescents with internet addiction are less likely to seek and find meaning in their lives compared to normal adolescents. Therefore, internet addiction can lead to a decreased search for meaning and presence of meaning in one's life. On the other hand, the results indicated that the average scores for feelings of loneliness were higher in the internet-addicted group compared to the scores of normal individuals. In other words, internet-addicted adolescents contribute to increased feelings of loneliness in individuals.