Impact of Internet in school-going adolescents: a cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

Introduction: Internet addiction is an online-related, compulsive behavior that interferes with normal living and causes severe stress on family, friends, loved ones, and one’s work environment. The addiction behavior becomes unmanageable, completely dominates the addict’s life, and impacts relationships and work. Aim: To identify the level of Internet addiction among school-going adolescents and its associated factors. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among school-going adolescents of age 13–19 years in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Stratified random sampling was adopted, and 602 students were enrolled. Individual interview and Internet addiction test (IAT), a self-report 20-item tool for adolescents and adults, were used. The content validity and reliability of the tool were established, and a pilot study was conducted. Results: Approximately 19.77% of students had full control of his or her usage; 67.11% of students experience frequent problems because of excessive Internet use, and 13.12% of students had significant problems because of Internet use. About 99.8% had used the Internet before, and 61.0% had their devices such as laptops (59.1%), tablets (26.1%), and cell phones (4.0%). In total, 59.5% use the Internet for entertainment and 10.3% for relieving loneliness. There was a significant association between IAT outcome and age group such that with an increase in age developed the risk of getting Internet addiction (P = 0.003). Conclusion: We observed that 13.12% had significant problems because of Internet use. The factors significantly associated with IAT outcome were age group, medium of education, a device to access the Internet, and whether parents know about student’s Internet activities.