Journal of Primary Care Dentistry and Oral Health (Jan 2020)

Internet addiction and its psychosocial impact on urban adolescents of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

  • Rahul Srivastava,
  • Devina Pradhan,
  • Lokesh Sharma,
  • Bhuvan Jyoti,
  • Omveer Singh

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/jpcdoh.jpcdoh_4_20
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 1, no. 1
pp. 12 – 15

Abstract

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Background: Internet addiction is defined as any online-related, compulsive behavior which interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one's work environment. The adolescents are most vulnerable to the numerous addictive temptations offered by the Internet during the transition phase. The present study aims to evaluate the prevalence of Internet addiction in adolescents of urban areas of Kanpur district and assess the association of Internet addiction with stress, anxiety, and depression. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students of higher secondary schools/colleges in the urban areas of Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. Out of 105 colleges, 10%, i.e., 10 colleges, were selected randomly and a total of 900 students were enrolled in the study. A pretested, predesigned questionnaire, Young's Internet Addiction Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 were used in the study. Data distribution was assessed for normality using the Shapiro–Wilk test. Categorical data were compared using the Chi-square test. All values were considered statistically significant for a value of P ≤ 0.05. Results: Majority (61.1%) of the respondents were females, and the mean age was 17.20 years. The prevalence of Internet addiction was 89.78%. The main purpose of using Internet was social networking (54.89%), followed by online gaming/gambling (19.67%) and study (12.89%). About 60.44% of the respondents used Internet for 3–6 h/day and 28.67% of the respondents used Internet for <3 h/day. There was a significant association between Internet addiction and stress (odds ratio = 33.55), depression (odds ratio = 0.99), and anxiety (odds ratio = 5.25). Conclusion: Internet addiction is a much quieter problem, and as such, it may be more readily disregarded or not even recognized as a problem. As parents and caregivers, understanding how to differentiate between normal Internet use and compulsive use is critically important.

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