Problematic Internet Use and health behaviors in adolescent residents of urban and rural areas in Poland - a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim of the studyThis paper attempts to assess Internet addiction and health behaviors in Polish adolescent residents of urban and rural areas.Subject or material and methods131 high school students, including 62 (47.3%) residents of rural and 69 (52.7%) residents of urban areas, completed the Polish adaptation of the Problematic Internet Use Test, the Health Behavior Inventory for children and adolescents, and a self-designed survey on the characteristics of Internet use.Results28.2% of respondents used the Internet for over 6 hours on school days, compared to 45.8% on no-school days. In total, high and very high risk of Internet addiction was recorded in 7.7% of respondents. Significantly higher PIU scores were reported in the residents of rural areas (p <0.05). Most respondents exhibited positive health behaviors. Higher index of general health behaviors correlated with a stronger declared willingness to reduce online activity in favor of spending time outside the house.DiscussionCreating more opportunities for teenagers to spend time outdoors/away from home can contribute to their reduced online activity, and thus reduce the risk of PIU.ConclusionsYoung people devote much of their time to Internet use, which is associated with their lesser engagement in health behaviors.