Abstract
Video games and social media have become increasingly popular among adolescents, with potential implications for their mental health. In recent years, there has been growing concern about the prevalence and negative consequences associated with internet gaming disorder and social media addiction among adolescents, particularly about their mental health. The study aimed to assess the magnitude of the problem of internet gaming disorder and social networking addiction among Tripoli University medical students. A cross-sectional study from one month from February to March 2024 at the University of Tripoli. (431) students responded to online questionnaires based on Internet Gaming Disorder Scale -9 (IGD-9) and Social Networking Addiction Scale (SNAS-21). Out of (431), 46.4% (200) were playing gaming frequently in the last 12 months, and 9% (39) of them were an addict. 75.2% (324) were using social media daily, 27.4 % (118) out of them were addicted. With mean ± SD of (IGD-9) scale 16.2 ± 7 6.5, and the mean score of SNAS-21 scale mean ± SD 70.6± 33. The addiction shows a significant association between genders 14.2% of males and 7.4% were addicted to gaming at x2 p=0.03 df 1, and social media shows 30.5% of females and 17.9% of males were addicted to social media at x2 0.012 df 1. Medical students in Libya were shown to be at a relatively higher risk of social addiction than gaming disorder, The frequency of social addiction in Tripoli University medical students identified by (SNAS-21) criteria was relatively high, males were more prone to gaming addiction than females in the opposite to social media addiction. Keywords. Gaming Disorder, Social Media Addiction, Psychological Distress, Medical Students.