Problematic Internet Use in South African Information Technology Workers

Abstract

The majority of studies that have looked at Internet addiction and problematic Internet use have focused either on university students or high school pupils as groups at high risk of experiencing problems as a result of their Internet use. This study adopts the approach that within the context of limited access to the Internet, those with access are obviously more at risk than those without access. With this in mind, this paper looks at the prevalence and correlates of problematic Internet use in a sample of 1399 information technology workers. The results indicate that the prevalence of problematic Internet use in this sample was 3.22%, significantly lower than in other studies. Information technology workers were more likely to display symptoms of problematic Internet use if they were younger and male, if they spent a large amount of time online, but not if they had only recently started using the Internet. The best predictors of problematic Internet use were procrastination, using online chat, spending a long period of time online in a single session, and going online more frequently per week. These results are discussed in relation to previous studies of problematic Internet use from around the world.KeywordsProblematic Internet useinformation technology workersonline procrastinationInternet addiction