Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Seminarians in a Major Seminary in Kenya

Abstract

Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Seminarians in a Major Seminary in Kenya 1. Introduction Internet, a global system of telecommunications network is part of our daily lives and is being used everywhere in the world (Wallace, 2014). People use internet for various reasons: academic purposes, professional work, connecting to relatives and friends, online shopping and advertisement or leisure (Deursen & Dijk, 2009). Schools and universities use internet for teaching and learning. The more an institution uses technology as a way of learning and teaching the better the students are expected to perform (Condie & Munro, 2007). Thus, increased use of internet for academic purpose is supported by the public, the media and policy makers. The internet users in the world represent 4.2 billion which is 55.1% of the world population (Internet World Stats, 2018). According to the National Center of Education Statistic in United States of America (USA), the category of the population mainly using internet is the adolescent, who utilize internet more than once on a daily basis (Kist, 2008). A study conducted by Moreno and Kolb (2012) found that 22% of adolescents spend almost 10 hours each day using internet. It also revealed that youth may consider the cyber space more real, online information truer and more accurate rather than the real world. With increased popularity of the internet, people are using this as a medium for various activities with potential for addiction (Leung & Lee, 2012). While many people are excited about the convenient use of the internet (Schroeder, 2018; Weber, 2011), researches have proved that some of the internet users while trying to satisfy their needs through the internet are likely to manifest features of internet addiction (IA) (Spada, 2014; Young, 1998). IA is described as an impulse control problem expressed by an incapacity to slow down internet use that exerts a negative impact on major life domains such as physical health issues, interpersonal relationship problems (Yuan, Qin, & Liu, 2011). While IA is presently not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), it is actually regarded as a disorder of concern (Cheng & Li, 2014, Young, 1998). Internet addiction rates vary among young people from different countries. In Europe and in America, prevalence of internet addiction ranks from 7.9% to 25.2% among adolescents while the Middle-East and Africa had rates from 17.3% to 23.6% (Xin et al., 2018). In Africa, the prevalence of internet addiction is 36.1% (Internet World Stats, 2018). In Kenya, technology and especially internet has considerably changed the habit of people. Through use

Prevalence of Internet Addiction and Socio-Demographics Correlates among Undergraduate Students of Private University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

“…The overall internet addiction gap between CUEA students and the seminarians is because CUEA participants were undergraduate students whereas the seminarians were both undergraduate and postgraduate students. In their study , Landry et. al., (2019) reported that postgraduate students emerged to be highly addicted to the internet at 41.7% level.…”

“…The prevalence is within the range of 17 % -23% found by Xin, et. al., (2018) on a study conducted among youth study by Landry, Mbwayo & Ireri (2019) reported that the prevalence of internet addiction among seminarians in a major seminary in Kenya was 38.7%. The overall internet addiction gap between CUEA students and the seminarians is because CUEA participants were undergraduate students whereas the seminarians were both undergraduate and postgraduate students.…”

“…The overall internet addiction gap between CUEA students and the seminarians is because rticipants were undergraduate students whereas the seminarians were both undergraduate and postgraduate students. In their study , Landry et. al., (2019) reported that postgraduate students emerged to be highly addicted to the uthors attributed the high prevalence of internet addiction among the seminarians to free and continuous access of internet by the seminarians as opposed to the university students who have internet access from Theyalso linked the high prevalence of internet addiction to loss of The high risk posed by undergraduate students accessing internet at home means that parents have roles to play students' internet use.…”

Reviewing the use of psychological assessment tools in the screening and admission process of candidates to the catholic priesthood or religious life.

“…In the publications reviewed here, the main factors studied have resulted in personality (34 out of 40 studies), spirituality (Cahyono & Julom, 2015; Francis & Crea, 2019; Kosek, 2000; Mahalik & Lagan, 2001; Okozi, 2010; Sunardi, 2014) and intelligence (with IQs that turned out to be average, Banks et al, 1984; Gamino et al, 2007; Kuchan et al, 2013; Songy, 2007). Two studies assessed the perceived parental bonding of candidates (Cahyono & Julom, 2015; Sunardi, 2014), one emotional intelligence (Cahyono & Julom, 2015), while another study assessed gender-related conflict and stress (Mahalik & Lagan, 2001), one the quality of life (Prusak et al, 2021) and one (Landry et al, 2019) addiction (raising the question about the need for the seminary authorities to carry out random screening for internet addiction). Scholars also recommend the investigation of the candidate’s psychosexual integration (O’Donnell, 1997; Kleponis, 2016) and the use of pornography, particularly internet pornography (Kleponis, 2016).…”

“…Based on 20 selfreport items, the IAT assesses for the presence of addiction to the internet, electronic entertainment, social media, and general use of electronic devices, and also measures the severity of addiction, in terms of mild, moderate or severe and it takes about 5-10 min to be administered (Young, 2017). The study by Landry et al (2019) revealed that 4.6% of the seminarians examined with this tool had severe internet addiction, whereas 34.1% were moderately addicted, and that the seminarians are not always aware of their addiction.…”