Taḥqīqāt-i ̒Ulūm-i Raftārī (Jan 2019)
The Role of Internet Addiction in Social Health
Abstract
- Aim and Background: Given the dangerous consequences that addiction to the internet has for adolescent individuals, the issue of internet addiction and its implications for the individual, family and social life of a teenager is important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the role of internet addiction in social health of adolescents. Methods and Materials: This is a descriptive and survey-based study. For this purpose, among all secondary school students in Ahar city (3767), based on the Morgan table, a sample of 348 students in two boys (177) and girl (171) were randomly selected using random sampling method The relative class was chosen. Participants completed Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and Social Health Questionnaire (SHQ). The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and standard regression. Findings: The mean (SD) of age participants was 16.3 (0.47), and the rate of social network use among the participants with a mean (SD) 3.38 (3.76). The mean (SD) of social flourishing 18.74(1.03) (r = -0.545), social correlation 13.74(0.78), (r = -0.129), social solidarity13.30 (1.52) (r = -0.417), social acceptance 22.47(1.95) (r = -0.378) and social participation 22.41(1.76) (r = -0.396) were internet addiction 41.16(7.92) was (p<0.05) and social health components could significantly predict addiction to the internet. Conclusion: The study showed that higher levels of internet addiction could be effective in reducing social health. Therefore, in order to reduce the problems and prevent the emergence of new birth defects, such as internet addiction, health promotion and other prevention methods should be prioritized.