Evaluation of internet addiction status and effects among medical students

Abstract

Background: The explosive growth of the internet in the last decade has had a huge impact on communication and interpersonal behavior. More and more students are addicted to internet, while spending lots of time surfing on the internet. The present study was conducted considering the above facts, with the objective to assess the level of internet addiction and effects of it among the medical students. Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted among medical students of PDU Govt. Medical College, Rajkot. Total 212 students were included in the study that were using internet daily and consented to participate. Young's Internet Addiction Test (YIAT20) was used to study the level of internet addiction. Results: Almost one third (35.4%) students were using internet for more than 2 years. Almost half (48.1%) students were using internet for more than 2 hours per day. Young's Internet Addiction Test showed that 61 (28.8%) students had scoring in the range of 50-79 (frequent problem due to internet usage). There was significant difference for level of internet addiction and problems of change of lifestyle change in dietary behavior and sleep distribution. Conclusions: This study's results imply that Internet addiction is a prevalent public health issue varied pattern of internet use. Close observation over the use of internet and changes due to it among students are required by parents and colleges to stop emerging internet addiction.

An era of digital slavery: a study on internet addiction among professional college students of Hassan, Karnataka

“…21,1 Similar studies showed that the magnitude of Internet Addiction ranges between 20% to 40% which is less when compared to our study. 1,2,[22][23][24] A study carried out among Engineering students in Tamil Nadu by Deepa Sankar et al showed a magnitude of internet addiction of 35% which is less compared to our study. 25 There is a statistically significant association between professional course and Internet addiction which indicated that medical students were more addicted than the engineering students.…”

“…19,20 Prevalence rates ranging from 20% to 65% were reported in many studies done in various parts of the world. 2,[6][7][8]11,13,15,19 Possible reasons for this are: (a) students have huge blocks of unstructured time, (b) First time away from parental control without anyone monitoring or censoring what they say or do online, (d) young students experience new problems of adapting to college life and finding new friends, and often end up seeking a companionship by using different applications of the Internet, (e) students desire to escape university sources of stress resulting from their obligations to pass exams, and complete their degrees in the prescribed time with reasonable marks, all of which make Internet overuse a significant cause of concern for parents and faculty. 11 Among the study subjects, 32.7% students reported mild addiction, 24% students reported moderate addiction and 1% reported severe addition.…”

<p>Relationships between Internet addiction and clinicodemographic and behavioral factors</p>

“…A total score of 20 indicated no signs of IA, while a total score of 100 represented the most severe IA. We adopted the following criteria, which were used in previous studies: total scores from 20 to 39 were defined as average usage; scores from 40 to 69 were considered to represent frequent problems due to Internet usage; and scores from 70 to 100 were considered to indicate significant problems caused by Internet usage 26–28. Using the above-mentioned cutoff scores, IAT was validated by Widyanto and McMurran, and psychometric properties were analyzed 27…”