Internet Addiction Levels and Problem-Solving Skills in the Teaching Profession: An Investigation

Abstract

Abstract. In this research, the relationship between Internet addiction levels among teaching candidates and their problem-solving aptitude and self-efficacy perceptions towards the teaching profession was investigated. In addition, the effects of gender, department, Internet use and sporting habits on the Internet addiction, problem-solving skills and self-efficacy perceptions among teaching candidates were examined. The sample in this study comprised final-grade teaching candidates who were in the graduation phase. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted with the SPSS 22.0 computer program. According to the results, there was a moderate negative relationship between the Internet addiction level among the teaching candidates and weak self-efficacy perceptions and problem-solving skills, while there was a positively higher correlation between self-efficacy perceptions and problem-solving skills in the sample. Male subjects' Internet addiction levels were significantly higher than those of their female counterparts. However, no gender influence was observed on the problem-solving skills of prospective teachers and their proficiency regarding professional competence. The use of the Internet for entertainment purposes influenced problem-solving skills among teaching candidates to a negative extent, resulting in Internet dependency. Teaching candidates who used the Internet for research purposes, however, showed a higher level of proficiency and problem-solving skills appropriate to their profession and lower Internet addiction levels. Engaging in regular sporting activities was found to reduce teaching candidates' Internet addiction levels and positively affect problem-solving skills.

Social Self-Efficacy and its Relationship to Loneliness and Internet Addiction among Hashemite University Students

“…These results are similar to those results of several studies (Wei, Russell, &Zakalik, 2005;Hermann, 2005;Erozkan & Deniz, 2012 ;Al Khatib, 2012 ;Carparo, 2014;Ibili, 2017;Afrin, 2016 ;Zeng, Ye, Hu & Ma, 2016 ;Feldman, Davidson, Ben-Naim, Maza, & Margalit, 2016) which indicate that there is a negative correlation between social self-efficacy, loneliness and internet addiction. However, Esen, Aktas and Tuncer(2013) concluded that there is no correlation between social self-efficacy and internet addiction.…”

The Influence of Smartphone Addiction, Personality Traits, Achievement Motivation on Problem-solving Ability of University Students

“…In general, the higher the smartphone addiction tendency, the lower the problem-solving ability will be. Similar findings have shown that addiction tendencies are negatively correlated with problem-solving and critical thinking skills (İbili, 2017;Lee & Kim, 2017).…”

Parental phubbing and smartphone addiction among adolescents

“…Examples of physical health disorders include weight loss, dehydration, fatigue, and obesity (Li, Deng, Ren, Guo, & He, 2014). In addition, psychosocial and mental health problems that arise include a decrease in the level of subjective well-being (Jin & Spence, 2016), reduced problem-solving ability (Ibili, 2017), depression, the onset of interpersonal problems in the family and social environment (Griffiths, 2000), adolescent sexual delinquency (Choi et al, 2017), and decreased academic achievement (Yildiz Durak, 2019).…”