JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The Internet brings convenience to human life and gradually becomes an indispensable part. However, its disadvantages are also obvious, such as addiction to it. Meanwhile, the increasing usage of the Internet potentially enhances users' e-health literacy, and online searching for health-related information could contribute to health.

Objective:

This study aims to investigate the interplay of internet use, e-health literacy, and internet addiction on the levels of physical activity of adolescents in Hong Kong.

Methods:

An online cross-sectional study was conducted in Hong Kong from June 2023 to August 2023. High school students aged 12 to 18 were recruited. Data were collected using the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS), and questions about demographic information and e-health technologies. Pearson correlation and mediation analyses were performed to determine the relationships.

Results:

A total of 117 participants were included in the analysis. They use the internet an average of 5.28 ± 3.50 hours per day, and the score of e-health literacy was 31.15 ± 4.04. Pearson correlation analysis showed that internet usage was associated with internet addiction (r=0.33, p<0.001); internet addiction was negatively correlated with E-health literacy (r=-0.26, p=0.005) and physical activity (r=-0.25, p=0.006). Internet usage was also negatively associated with levels of physical activity (r=-0.22, p=0.018). In addition, the mediation analysis showed that internet usage and e-health literacy both had a direct effect on internet addiction (unstandardized coefficient [B] = 1.53, p < 0.001, B = -0.91, p =0.002). Internet addiction had a direct effect on physical activity (B = -43.94, p = 0.017), whereas e-health literacy had no significant direct effect on physical activity, nor was it a significant mediator between internet use and physical activity.

Conclusions:

The findings showed the importance of e-health literacy in preventing internet addiction; however, future research should further investigate variables that play roles in the relationship between e-health literacy and physical activity or other health-related behaviors. This study shed light on the benefits of promoting e-health literacy among teenagers to prevent addiction, which might provide insight for teachers and parents in nurturing students.