Fig. 2.

Psychological distress (latent construct) impacted on time spent on internet-related behavior (observed variables) via problematic use of internet-related behavior (latent constructs), controlling for age, gender (Ref: boy), health condition (Ref: currently healthy), self-reported perceived academic performance, and psychological distress. (a) Time spent on smartphone use and problematic smartphone-application use; (b) Time spent on social media use and problematic social media use; (c) Time spent gaming and problematic gaming use. Problematic smartphone use assessed using Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale; Problematic social media use assessed using Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale; Problematic gaming assessed using Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form; Psychological distress assessed using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21. Path coefficients were presented for Time 2 standardized coefficient