Internet addiction among medical and non-medical students during COVID-19 pandemic, Tanta University, Egypt

Abstract

Internet addiction is one of the most growing addictive behaviors worldwide, especially among university students affecting their physical and mental health negatively. During COVID-19, accessing online books, completing assignments, and online assessments are highly recommended by universities, teachers, and students. The Internet has increasingly become a vital part of our lives, and distant online classes increase the dependency of students on the Internet. The aim of this study is to assess the level of internet addiction among medical or non-medical students in Tanta University, Egypt. This was a cross-sectional study conducted during October and November 2020. It included 373 students from the faculty of medicine and 373 non-medical students from the faculty of science. The validated (IAT-20) was used to assess the level of Internet addiction among these students. A total of 51.7% of medical students were found severe internet addicts and 43.4% of them were possible addicts compared to only 11.3% of non-medical students who were found severely addicted to the Internet and 68.9% of them were possible addicts with statistically significant difference between them. Female students of both colleges were found addicted to the Internet than males. Female medical and non-medical students suffered from severe Internet addiction more than non-medical and male ones. Appropriate awareness creation intervention strategies should be implemented to decrease the level of Internet addiction among university students and to reduce its harmful and negative consequences.

Personality Traits of Croatian University Students with Internet Addiction

“…The present study did not find a difference in the IA prevalence considering the participants’ faculty subject area, which is in concordance with an earlier study among Croatian university students [ 35 ] and a recent study among Indian students [ 33 ], although a recent study from Egypt found that students who studied in the field of biomedicine a more prone to IA development [ 47 ] and study among Indian students published in 2020 showed that students who studied in the field of technical sciences are the most vulnerable for the development of IA [ 48 ].…”

Internet Addiction in Socio-Demographic, Academic, and Psychological Profile of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

“…In this context, social norms, socio-cultural attitudes, but also a lower digital participation of females may play an important role in terms of protective factors ( 78 ). However, there is also evidence of female susceptibility to internet addiction ( 79 ). A possible explanation for this is the pandemic itself, which may have erased male dominance in terms of internet addiction ( 6 ).…”

How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Internet Use Behaviors and Facilitated Problematic Internet Use? A Bangladeshi Study

“…h 1 = Less than 6 hours, 2 = 6 to 7 hours, 3 = More than 7 hours; I 1 = Less than 2 hours, 2 = 2 to 3 hours a greater risk of internet addiction across different cohorts. [34][35][36] One study reported that the prevalence of severe internet dependence rose 23% during COVID-19 pandemic. 33 Table 4 provides a comparison of results in the present study with online use behaviors in previous Bangladeshi studies assessing similar variables.…”