Level of Internet Addiction Among Nursing Students: A Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract

Internet has an inseparable role in both individual and societal life. Professional students like nurses are majorly using internet for both educational and educational purposes. As the accessibility, duration, and dependence level on internet among students increased day by day, the chances of internet addiction among them was considered for the current study. Descriptive Cross sectional survey was undertaken to investigate the level of internet addiction among 97 first year nursing students at Metro College of Nursing Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. Total enumeration technique was used for sampling and ethical clearance was obtained from the institution. Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998) was administered after taking informed consent. Socio-demographic profile and internet addiction scores were analysed using descriptive statistics. Among the students, 42% had mild, 34.02% had moderate, and 1.03% had severe internet addiction. About 17.52% of students reported with no addiction. There was a statistically significant association found between the level of internet addiction and selected variables like an active account on social media, presence of a valid e-mail id, and the time spent for browsing per day at p<0.05 level of significance. Addiction on internet even in mild and moderate level needs to be identified and intervened timely.