A Cross
Sectional Study to measure the level of Internet addiction among adolescents in
Manchanath Dev High School, Sameigadia, Bhubaneswar with a view to develop an
Information Leaflet
Mrs. Soumya Sonalika
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Community Health Nursing,
Kalinga Institute of Nursing Sciences (KINS),
KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
*Corresponding Author
E-mail: ssonalika@outlook.com
ABSTRACT:
Background
of the study: There has been an
explosive growth in the use of internet not only in India but also worldwide in
the last decade. There were about 42 million active adolescent internet user in
urban India in 2008 as compared to smaller in 2000.The internet is used by same
to facilitated research to seek information, for interpersonal communication,
and for business transaction. On the other hand, it can be used by same to
indulge in pornography, excessive gaming, chatting for long hours and even
gambling. There have been growing concerns worldwide for what has been labelled
as ‘internet addiction’. School students who have social, peer or behavioural
problems are more susceptible to internet addiction.
Objectives:
1.
To measure the level of internet
addiction among adolescents.
2.
To associate the level of internet
addiction with their selected demographic variables.
3.
To develop an information leaflet
on internet addiction.
Method:
A non-experimental exploratory
research design was adopted to carry out the present study. Convenient sampling
technique was to select 50 adolescents. Data was collected by using Young’s
Internet Addiction Test (IAT), 20 item 5-pointLikert scale to measure the level
of internet addiction among adolescents with a view to develop information
leaflet. The analysis was done by using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Results:
Findings of the study revealed that
majority of respondents 23 (46%) had mild level of internet addiction, 13 (26%)
had moderate level of internet addiction and 9(13%) had no internet addiction.
There was significant association between level of internet addiction and the
selected demographic variables such as per capita income of the family,
father’s occupation, types of mobile use at 0.05 level of significance.
KEYWORDS: Internet addiction, adolescents, information leaflet.
INTRODUCTION:
BACKGROUND
OF STUDY:
The
internet is the biggest world-wide communication network of computer. It has
millions of smaller domestic, academic business and government network, which
together carry many deferent kind of information. The term is some time
abbreviated on “the net”. The worldwide web is one of biggest services. It is
used by a few billion people.(1)
The
fascinating world of internet originated in the 1960’s, when the United States
used it for military purposes for the first time(2). Since the mid
1990s, many education policy makers have promoted widespread access to the
internet in schools. National initiatives have expanded that assess. Over the
same period, access to the internet has been expanding locations outside of the
school, especially to homes with school aged children. By July 2002, Pew
Internet & American Life Project Surveys showed that 60% of America’s
children, more than 43 million children under 18, use the internet. About 78%
of those between the ages of 12 & 17 use the internet. In addition, more
than one in five thousands with children (23%) have broadband connectivity through
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology or cable modem.(3)
A
study has revealed that 6% of people are suffering from internet addiction
worldwide, hampering their health and interpersonal relationships. Researchers
from University of Hong Kong presented 164 internet addiction prevalence
figures, with an overall global prevalence estimate of 6%. Data was taken from
more than 89,000 individuals of 31 countries. Prevalence ranged from a low of
2.6% in Northan and western Europe to a high of 10.4% in the middle east. The
authors described factors associated with higher internet addiction, prevalence
and how it relates to individuals’ quality of life. It is an impulsive control
problem masked and inability to inhibit internet use which can adversely affect
a person’s life(4)
Approximately
93% of adolescents in the U.S have reported to use the internet and
approximately 70% of adolescents in Europe surf online for 2-4 hours per day.
It was estimated that about 99.9% of Korean adolescents use internet in daily
life. The overuse of internet, on the hands, is uprising concern. Approximately
13% of adolescents were categorized as problematic internet user in the 2010
Korean youth risk behaviour web based survey. 21.8% of Korean adolescents have
been found to overuse computers for gaming(5)
The
world’s most developed countries already have an internet penetration level
over 90%, Denmark, 96.3%, UK, 92.6%, or japan, 91.1%, while the highest growth rates
are recorded on the African continent in developing countries like mali.18.6%, Cameroon,
16.5%, or cote d’Ivoire, 14.3%. Overall rate in Europe is 73.5%of and Croatia
with 75%of internet users (Internet world stats 2017)(6)
NEED
FOR STUDY:
Today,
in terms of internet usage, India ranks second with 354 million internet users,
ahead of many other countries including the United States (280.7 Million).
Internet has profoundly changed the way we work, communicate and live, but it
may also lead to addiction. Internet addiction is a growing problem and is
known by different terms such as Pathological internet use, Problematic
internet use, Compulsive internet use and Internet Overuse. Among the different
age groups, school students who struggle to cope up with academic performance
or have peer and behavioural concerns are more susceptible to internet
addiction. There is a paucity of large sample studies on internet addiction and
its determinants from India, a country with huge adolescent population(2).
The
prevalence found by Green Field was about 60% among the general population,
while Schere found it to be 14% among the college-based population. Surveys
conducted online revealed that 4-10% of the users met the criteria for internet
addiction. General population surveys show a prevalence of 0.3-0.7%. The
addicted average 38.5h/week on a computer, where as the non-addicted 4.9 h/week.(7)
In
the opinion of Goldberg, seen internet addiction disorder an overuse of
internet with stress and manifestations of signs of anger, tension and anxiety.
It is highly harmful to individual’s health and social wellbeing in that it
encourages undesirable behaviour. Internet Addiction Disorders (IAD) is growing
at a fast rate becoming a prevalent mental health problem around the world. Internet
Addiction leads to different social, psychological and physical disorders. ASAM
observed that internet problematic use are liable to negative physical effects
such as sleep disturbance, back strain, eye strain etc. According to him such
persons also faces family, academic and social challenge. One of the evil
effect of internet addiction is anxiety, stress and depression. Continuous
using of internet results to emergency of some concerns that one of them is
internet anxiety. There exist a positive and significant relationship between
the level of anxiety and internet addiction.(8)
According
to a study, the addiction problem in India is real at least 24.6 percent of
adolescents have problematic internet use or internet addiction disorder (IAD).
A report by the Indian Council for Medical Research says that 12% of
individuals using internet in the country suffer from this problem. Internet
addiction is growing problem world over. Japan, known far its early adoption of
technology, was among the first to recognize the challenge of IAD. It is
estimated that over 5 lakh children in the 12-18 years age group are victims of
screen addiction. High school students spend over 6 hours during week days and
in many cases, students skips school to be online. The HRD Ministry should
consider mandatory training for school and college staff, who in turn can
educate students on responsible use of the internet. The main focus should be
on improving children cognitive skills and thereby nurturing creativity schools
can play a supportive role by educating parents about symptoms and possible
actions.(9).
PROBLEM
STATEMENT:
A
cross sectional study to measure the level of internet addiction among
adolescents in Manchanath Dev High School, Sameigadia, Bhubaneswar with a view
to develop Information Leaflet.
OBJECTIVES:
· To measure the level of internet addiction among
adolescents.
· To associate the level of internet addiction among
adolescents with their selected demographic variable.
· To develop an information leaflet on internet
addiction.
HYPOTHESIS:
The
hypothesis will be tested at 0.05 level of significance.
H1: There will be a significant association between the
level of internet addiction of adolescents with selected demographic variable.
DELIMITATIONS:
· Study was limited to the students studying in 10th
class.
· Who were willing to participate in the study.
· Those were present during the time of data collection.
METHODOLOGY:
RESEARCH
APPROACH:
For
the present study the non-experimental research approach was considered.
RESEARCH
DESIGN:
For
the present study cross sectional research design was utilized to achieve the
objectives of the study.
SAMPLING
TECHNIQUE:
Convenient
sampling technique was used.
SAMPLE:
Sample
size was 50 adolescents.
SETTING:
The
present study was conducted in Manchanath Dev High School, Sameigadia,
Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
DESCRIPTION
OF TOOL:
The
tool used for research study was Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT), 20 item
5-pointLikert Scale questionnaire which measured the level of internet
addiction of 10th class students. The tool consist of two sections:
Section A:
It includes the demographic variables of 10th
class adolescent students such as age, sex, religion, type of family, income of
family, father’s occupation, residence, type of gadget use, common social media
sites and apps uses, previous knowledge to source of information regarding ill
effects of internet addiction. There were totally 11 items.
Section B:
It
consists of five-point, Likert scale questionnaires on internet addiction. This
section has 20 items. Each item had six options.
SCORING
PROCEDURE:
The
level of the internet addiction was measured in terms of percentage scores.
Thus, for 20 items, 100 is the maximum obtainable score.
Table
1- Percentage of scores revealing level of internet addiction
|
Level
of internet addiction
|
Percentage
of scores
|
Actual
scores
|
|
No
internet addiction
|
18%
|
1-30
|
|
Mild
level of internet addiction
|
46%
|
31-49
|
|
Moderate
level of internet addiction
|
26%
|
50-79
|
|
Severe
level of internet addiction
|
10%
|
80-100
|
DEVELOPMENT
OF LEAFLET:
The
researchers prepared the leaflet on internet addiction. The content in leaflet
includes definition, sign and symptoms, prevention and harmful effects of
internet addiction.
DATA
COLLECTION TECHNIQUE:
The
investigator collected data from Manchanath Dev High School, Sameigadia, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha. Prior permission was obtained from the Head Master of the school to
conduct the study. 50 adolescents were selected as per inclusive criteria.
Informed consent was obtained from the study samples. Descriptive and
inferential statistics was used for data analysis.
DISCUSSION:
·
The findings of the study related
to demographic variables revealed that majority 43(86%) adolescents belongs to
13-15 years and 28(56%) were female. 31(62%) adolescents belongs to joint
family and 29(58%) of adolescent’s family per capita
income is more than Rs 6254 and their father’s occupation is business. 39(78%)
were from urban area and 45(90%) did not have previous knowledge on internet
addiction.82% of adolescents used internet more than one hour and 23(46%)
adolescents prefer facebook.
·
The findings of the study revealed
that majority 46% had mild level of internet addiction and 13% had moderate
level of internet addiction and after the administration of information leaflet
knowledge score improved.
·
The data showed that the
distribution of information leaflet was effective in improving the knowledge
level of adolescents regarding the prevention of internet addiction.
·
The findings of the study also
revealed that significant association was found between knowledge scores in
relation to selected demographic variables (p<0.05) of 10th year
adolescents school students.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
· A similar study can be undertaken for +2 college students.
· A study can be conducted on adult to assess the
knowledge and attitude towards internet addiction.
· A similar study can be conducted by using different
teaching method.
· A similar study can be done with experimental
approach.
· A similar study can be replicated in different parts
of the states and countries to examine the variation in the contributing
factors.
REFERENCES:
1.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org>wiki>internet
2.
Arthanari S et al. Internet
Addiction. Indian journal of community health / vol 29 / issue no 01 / jan –
mar 2017 pp90-92.
3.
Sousan A, Doug L, Lee R and
Amanda L. Pew Research Center-Internet and Technology. August 14, 2002
Available from URL: www.pewinternet.org>2002/08/14>part-i-background-and-introduction
4.
The Hindu, New York
-Internet Addiction affects 6 % of world population, December 17, 2016-4.36 IST
googleweblight.com. Available from URLwww.thehindu.com>sci-tech>internet
5.
So Young Kim, Min Su Kim and
HyoGeun Choi, The Association Between Internet use time and school performance
among Korean adolescents differ according to the purpose of the internet, Plos
One,2017;12(4):e0174878. Available from URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6.
Martin Mihajlov and Lucija
Vejmelka: Internet addiction: a review of the first twenty years, Psychiatria
Danubina, 2017; Vol. 29, No. 3, pp 260-272
7.
A Study on Prevalence of Internet
Addiction and its association with Psychopathology in Indian Adolescents’ by
Deepak Goel, Alka Subhramanyam and Ravindra Kamath, 2013 Available from
URL:https://googleweblight.com.
8.
Journal of Mental Disorder
and Treatment, ‘Academic Stress and Internet Addiction among adolescents:
Solution Focuses Social Interest Programme as Treatment Option Available from
URL: https://www.omicsonline.org>opea-acce-
9.
Internet Addiction’s a public
health issue| business Line, by G Krishna Kumar, updated: July 15,2016 21:01
IST Available from URL: www.thehindubusiness.com>upinion
