Risk of internet addiction among undergraduate medical, nursing, and lab technology students of a health institution from Delhi, India

Abstract

Objective: To assess prevalence, usage pattern, and risk of internet addiction (IA) among undergraduate students of a health institution from Delhi. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out during March-April 2015 using 20-item Young's IA test, a Likert scale-based interview schedule with scores ranging from 0 to 100 points with a higher score indicating greater internet dependency. Background variables included sociodemographic details, general health practices, self-assessment of mental health status, inter-personal relation (family/friends), personality type, and global satisfaction in life. The scoring pattern was analyzed in the form of low risk (score ≤49 points) and high risk (score ≥50 points) for IA. The proportion, Chi-square test, adjusted, and un-adjusted odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) were computed using regression analysis. Results: Out of 202, 40.6% were MBBS students, followed by 35.6% from nursing, and 23.8% from medical lab technology stream; 68.3% were females; the mean age was 20.3 ± 1.4 years; and 61.9% were residing in hostels. It was observed that 44 (21.8%) and 22 (10.9%) students had ever consumed alcohol and smoked, respectively, while only 42 (20.8%) were engaged in physical activity (≥30 min) during most (≥5) of the days of the week. Based on self-assessment, 33 (16.3%) were globally dissatisfied and 88 (43.6%) reported themselves to be introverts. The majority of students were using internet for educational purpose (98%), entertainment (95.0%), accessing social sites (92.5%), checking E-mails (76.2%), and pornographic websites (45%). With regard to IA, 171 (84.7%) were at low risk (score ≤49) and 31 (15.4%) were at high risk (score ≥50). Male students (P = 0.001), ever consumed alcohol (P = 0.003), ever smoker (P = 0.02), and regular physical activity (P = 0.04) were found to be significantly associated with a high risk of IA based on Chi-square test, but none were found significant at higher levels of analyses (adjusted OR). No significant association of IA was found with mental status, global satisfaction, inter-personal relationship, or personality type. Conclusion: A large majority (84.7%) of students in our study are found to be at low risk of internet addiction.

Seroprevalence of Typhoid in Indian Regions: Tertiary Care Hospitals & Diagnostic Laboratories-Based Study

“…But in a study done by Sharma A et al and Sulania et al the males were found to be more addicted to internet. [6,10] Also, in a study done by Salehi M et al male Iranian students were more addicted to internet and was statistically significant. [8] Tran et al [9] had done a study among Vietnam students resulted that males were more addicted to internet.…”

“…Whereas in a study by Sulania et al showed that those who were hosteller were more addicted to internet than days scholar. [10] Tran et al also reported that among vietnamm students, those staying in hostel were more addicted to internet. [9] Most of the students have told that they had used internet only for <2 hrs.…”

“…[1] Sulania et al also reported the same purpose of internet use among the students. [10] In most of the studies, mobile phone was used as easy access to internet [13,14] and social networking was the main purpose for using internet. [15,16,17] Some students in our study had told that they had used internet for leisure activity.…”

Determination of the Relationship Between Internet Addiction and the Level of Loneliness Among Nurses

“…The internet provides unique opportunities for our daily lives and offers an interactive environment for social interaction and information seeking independently of time and space (Lin et al, 2013). It is described as a double-edged sword because the internet use can lead to inhabitance, addiction, and negative academic, mental, physical, and social effects while serving as a useful concept in terms of information transfer/update, system simplicity, and higher efficiency and effectiveness during the progress of mankind (Sulania et al, 2015). Although the intention of using internet is to increase communication and facilitate information sharing, but the faster-than-expected spread of the internet has led to internet addiction (Arısoy, 2009).…”

“…Internet addiction in nursing and university students is related to loneliness (Sulania et al, 2015). Nevertheless, whether such a relationship exists in nurses still needs to be explored.…”