Internet Addiction a Comparative Study between Undergraduate Students of India and Malaysia

Abstract

Modern day life is truing towards more and more devices and internet fever is just spreading like wild fire. For young people the life is just meaningless without internet, for some it’s just like oxygen without which it’s impossible for them to survive. According to the researches that have been carried out few years back Internet addiction is a psychological disorder proposed for inclusion in DSM-V (the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth revision), which was scheduled for publication in 2011. Korean researchers are developing a standard psychological tool called the K-scale to diagnose Internet addiction and measure its severity. According to Dr. Jerald Block, who recommends Internet addiction for inclusion in the manual, the proposed disorder exhibits four common characteristics of addiction: Excessive use, which may be accompanied by impaired sense of the passage of time and/or neglecting basic drives (such as hunger or the need for sleep).Withdrawal (when prevented from going online), which may be manifested as anger, tension or depression, Tolerance which in the case of internet addiction may be indicated by longer use or a perceived need for upgrades or new software. Negative consequences to the behavior, which may include arguments, fatigue, problems at school or work, lying, lack of achievement and social isolation. According to research from Stanford University School of Medicine in Silicon Valley in 2006one in eight people in the U.S. is addicted to the Internet. The typical Internet addict is “a single, college-educated, white male in his 30s, who spends approximately 30 hours a week on non-essential computer use.” 14 percent of study respondents had difficulty abstaining for several days. 5.9 percent admitted that their Internet use impacted their relationships. 8.2 percent admitted that they used the Internet to escape reality. 3.7 percent were preoccupied by thoughts of going online when offline. In the present research an effort is made to understand the addiction effect among undergraduate students of India and Malaysia. The objective in the present research is to provide better intervention to the students if any students have high level of internet addiction. It has been hypothesized that compared to Indian students Malaysian students will significantly have high Internet addiction than Indian students. To assess the level of internet addiction among the undergraduate students Internet Addiction Test (IAT) by Dr. Kimberly Youngis used. The sample for the research has been chosen from USM-KLE International Medical College Belagavi and KLE Institute of Nursing Sciences Belagavi. The total sample includes 200 undergraduate students from India and Malaysia (100-Indian students and 100 Malaysian students’ male and female); the age of the students is between 18 to 23 years.