Internet use among university students: A reason for concern?

International studies reveal that students have more freedom, as well as unstructured and unsupervised time, which makes them susceptible to problematic internet use (PIU). Although students are a risk group for PIU, no evidence of local research on internet use among students could be identified. This article reports on a study on the nature and impact of internet use among students at a tertiary institution. A quantitative research approach was adopted and a survey with a group-administered questionnaire was conducted with 295 second-year students (between 18 and 25 years) registered for a module in a basic social science. Respondents were recruited through convenience sampling. The nature of internet use was explored with reference to internet platforms, reasons for internet use, devices for connecting to the internet, and the locations where respondents access the internet. The impact of internet use was explored through eight constructs adopted from two screening instruments in the public domain, i.e. the Internet-Related Addictive Behaviour Inventory and the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. The research results were calculated by means of descriptive and association statistics, specifically the chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Ethical considerations, such as informed consent and voluntary participation, were observed. The research results revealed that the respondents preferred email and chatting as internet platforms, while they used the internet mostly for extrinsic reasons, such as for assignments and socialising. Online activities occurred mostly on campus and at home during the early evenings via mobile phones or laptops. The respondents scored relatively low on the constructs measuring PIU. However, two constructs ‘escape from problems’ and ‘loss of control’ presented with markedly higher scores and could be flagged as potential risk areas. Furthermore, association statistics indicated a statistically significant difference of some constructs with regard to gender and the romantic relationship status of respondents, which could be considered in the provision of student support services. The development and evaluation of evidence-based interventions for the prevention, treatment and management of PIU are recommended

How Reminders of Current Usage Affect Problematic and Objectively Measured Smartphone Usage

Probleemne nutitelefonikasutus (PNK) on liigne, personaalsele ja sotsiaalsele elule negatiivsete tagajärgedega seotud nutitelefoni kasutamine. Varasemalt on näidatud kõrgema PNK seoseid erinevate psüühikahäirete sümptomite tõsiduse, füüsiliste vaevuste ja ka muude igapäevaelu puudutavate probleemidega. Käesolevas töös uurisin objektiivselt mõõdetud nutitelefonikasutuse näitajate seoseid PNK-ga ning senise nutitelefonikasutuse meeldetuletuste/teadete mõju kasutusele ja/või PNK-le. PNK-d mõõtsin lühendatud eestikeelse Nutitelefonisõltuvuse Küsimustikuga (E-SAPS18) ning kasutusandmete kogumiseks ja teadete kuvamiseks oli rakendus App Usage – Manage/Track Usage. Ööpäevane keskmine kasutusaeg kogu uuringu vältel oli positiivselt seotud enesekohaselt raporteeritud kõrgema PNK-ga, kuid ööpäevane keskmine kasutuskordade arv ei olnud seotud kõrgema PNK-ga. Meeldetuletused vastava päeva kasutuse kohta avaldasid mõju ööpäevase keskmise kasutusaja vähendamisele, kuid mitte ööpäevase keskmise kasutuskordade ega PNK vähendamisele. Antud uurimistöö aitab paremini mõista PNK-d

Predictors of excessive internet use among adolescents in Spain: The relevance of the relationship between parents and their children

Since the introduction of the concept in the late nineties, Internet addiction has been a growing phenomenon becoming a public health issue that cannot be ignored nowadays. Focusing on adolescents, previous research has analyzed the prevalence of excessive Internet use and determined several predictors such as socio-demographic characteristics, personality traits or emotions. To move on this topic, this paper draws attention to the relationship between parents and their children. Using a nationally representative sample of 37, 486 students aged 14–18 years old in Spain, an under researched European country, this study finds that care received from parents [B = -0.141, SE = -0.033] and parents'' knowledge about where [B = -0.065, SE = -0.032] and with whom [B = -0.232, SE = -0.032] the adolescent is while he/she goes out at night are associated with lower levels of excessive Internet use. In turn, fixing clear rules does not help reduce excessive Internet use. These results, together with the influence of other control variables, offer important insights and implications to prevent adolescents from excessive Internet use

How does the world google the Internet, anxiety and happiness?

This paper investigates how the world uses Google, the most popular search engine, to look for information about the “Internet” as well as two symptoms of emotional well-being, namely, “anxiety” and “happiness.” Data corresponding to 202 countries were collected for a period of five years from 2013 to 2017 using Google Trends, a free surveillance tool that reports data from the search engine. The search volume of “Internet” was positively correlated with that of “anxiety” as well as “happiness.” Furthermore, the paper analysed if the search volumes correlated with actual emotional well-being measured using the World Happiness Index provided by the United Nations (UN), and the Life Satisfaction Index provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The search volume of “anxiety” showed positive correlations with both the indices. The results are discussed, and new directions for future research are identified

Combatting digital addiction: Current approaches and future directions

In recent years, the notion of digital addiction has become popular. Calls for solutions to combat it, especially in adolescents, are on the rise. Whilst there remains debate on the status of this phenomenon as a diagnosable mental health condition; there is a need for prevention and intervention approaches that encourage individuals to have more control over their digital usage. This narrative review examines digital addiction countermeasures proposed in the last ten years. By countermeasures, we mean strategies and techniques for prevention, harm reduction, and intervention towards addictive digital behaviours. We include studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and 2021 and based on empirical evidence. In total, 87 studies were included in the review. The findings show that the main countermeasures could be grouped under four categories: psycho-social, software mediated, pharmacological, and combined. Overall, it has been shown that the proposed countermeasures were effective in reducing addictive digital use. However, a general statement on the efficacy of proposed countermeasures cannot be made due to inconsistent conceptualisation of digital addiction and methodological weaknesses. Accordingly, this review highlights issues that need to be addressed in future studies

A developmental social work perspective on problematic Internet use among university students

Problematic internet use (PIU) is a growing phenomenon worldwide. Students in higher education especially are a vulnerable group for developing symptoms associated with PIU as a result of the idiosyncratic characteristics of student life. Owing to a lacuna in local social work research on the nature, extent and impact of internet use among students in South Africa, a crosssectional survey was conducted with 498 (n = 498) second-year undergraduate students at a South African university. The results indicate that students access the internet on university campuses and at home daily through their cell phones and laptops for academic and social purposes. Although the average number of hours spent on the internet per day does not indicate PIU, the findings flag certain symptoms associated with PIU, for example, tolerance, escape from problems, and loss of control. Social workers should not be complacent, but rather introduce services to lower students’ risk of PIU. Considering the country’s adoption of social development as welfare model, developmental social work services on the preventive, early intervention and treatment levels as well as policy development are recommended.https://upjournals.co.za/index.php/SWPR/index2020-12-01pm2020Social Work and Criminolog

School-based prevention for adolescent Internet addiction: prevention is the key. A systematic literature review

Adolescents’ media use represents a normative need for information, communication, recreation and functionality, yet problematic Internet use has increased. Given the arguably alarming prevalence rates worldwide and the increasingly problematic use of gaming and social media, the need for an integration of prevention efforts appears to be timely. The aim of this systematic literature review is (i) to identify school-based prevention programmes or protocols for Internet Addiction targeting adolescents within the school context and to examine the programmes’ effectiveness, and (ii) to highlight strengths, limitations, and best practices to inform the design of new initiatives, by capitalizing on these studies’ recommendations. The findings of the reviewed studies to date presented mixed outcomes and are in need of further empirical evidence. The current review identified the following needs to be addressed in future designs to: (i) define the clinical status of Internet Addiction more precisely, (ii) use more current psychometrically robust assessment tools for the measurement of effectiveness (based on the most recent empirical developments), (iii) reconsider the main outcome of Internet time reduction as it appears to be problematic, (iv) build methodologically sound evidence-based prevention programmes, (v) focus on skill enhancement and the use of protective and harm-reducing factors, and (vi) include IA as one of the risk behaviours in multi-risk behaviour interventions. These appear to be crucial factors in addressing future research designs and the formulation of new prevention initiatives. Validated findings could then inform promising strategies for IA and gaming prevention in public policy and education

Resiliencia y estrés académico en estudiante de I, III y V de enfermería de un instituto tecnológico de Lima, 2022

El presente estudio tuvo por objetivo general determinar la relación entre resiliencia y estrés académico en estudiantes de I, III y V de Enfermería de un Instituto tecnológico de Lima, 2022. La investigación es de tipo básica y de enfoque cuantitativo, diseño no experimental, transversal y correlacional. Se trabajó con una población de 140 estudiantes de Enfermería Técnica del I, III y V ciclo y con una muestra de 103 participantes. Se usó la encuesta y el cuestionario, CRE-U para resiliencia y CEA para estrés académico, con una puntuación del 1-5 en la Escala de Likert para ambos. El instrumento tuvo una confiabilidad de Alfa de Cronbach de 0.893 para el primero y 0.968 para el segundo, siendo validado por dos temáticos y una metodóloga. El resultado fue una correlación negativa modera e inversa y significativa débil de r=-0,348 con p_sig=0,000 ≥ 0,05, aceptándose así la hipótesis de la investigación. Por consiguiente, se concluyó que a un elevado estrés académico en los estudiantes, su resiliencia será débil

Utilização da Internet e regulação emocional : um estudo com estudantes universitários portugueses

Exame público realizado em 14 de novembro de 2023, às 15HDissertação de mestrado em Psicologia ClínicaObjetivo: As dificuldades na regulacao emocional sao uma caracteristica potencialmente comum a diferentes adicoes. A maioria dos estudos avalia a prevalencia da adicao a internet e possiveis variaveis relacionadas em amostras de adolescentes. Estudos dirigidos a jovens adultos sao mais limitados. Os/As estudantes universitarios/as sao uma populacao na qual o aumento do consumo da internet e habitual e necessario, sendo suscetiveis a adicao a internet. Portanto, o principal objetivo deste estudo e averiguar se existe uma relacao significativa entre a utilizacao da internet e as dificuldades na regulacao emocional em jovens adultos/as estudantes universitarios/as portugueses/as. Método: O presente estudo caracteriza-se por ser quantitativo-correlacional e transversal. Participaram 234 estudantes universitarios/as com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 33 anos (M= 21.69, SD= 3.04). Os dados foram recolhidos online atraves da tecnica de amostragem “bola de neve”. Para responder ao principal objetivo foi calculado o Coeficiente de Correlacao de Spearman. Resultados: Mais de metade dos/as participantes (82.5%, n= 193) demonstram apresentar adicao a internet. Existe uma correlacao positiva estatisticamente significativa entre a utilizacao da internet e as dificuldades na regulacao emocional. Conclusão: A presenca de dificuldades na regulacao emocional pode ser conceptualizada como um fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de adicao a internet. A adicao a internet parece representar uma estrategia de coping disfuncional para compensar as dificuldades na regulacao emocional. Esta investigacao revela a necessidade de se promover o desenvolvimento de estrategias para dotar os/as estudantes de competencias de regulacao emocional e para os/as auxiliar a regular a utilizacao da internet.Purpose: Difficulties in emotional regulation are a potentially common feature of different addictions. Most studies assess the prevalence of internet addiction and possible related variables in adolescent samples. Studies aimed at young adults are more limited. University students are a population in which increased internet consumption is habitual and necessary, and are susceptible to internet addiction. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between internet use and difficulties in emotional regulation in young adult portuguese university students. Method: The present study is characterized by being quantitative-correlational and cross-sectional. A total of 234 university students aged between 18 and 33 (M= 21.69, SD= 3.04) participated in this study. Data was collected online using the "snowball" sampling technique. To answer the main objective, Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated. Results: More than half of the participants (82.5%, n= 193) demonstrated internet addiction. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between internet use and difficulties in emotional regulation. Conclusion: The presence of difficulties in emotional regulation can be conceptualized as a risk factor for the development of internet addiction. Internet addiction seems to represent a dysfunctional coping strategy to compensate for difficulties in emotional regulation. This research reveals the need to promote the development of strategies to equip students with emotional regulation skills and to help them regulate their use of the internet

Perceptions of Active Social Media Adults’ Mental Health After Participating Online With Uncivil Political Discourse With Out-Group Members

Online incivility that occurs in the comment sections of social media sites has become increasingly prevalent. Much of this incivility occurs in the context of political debate. Previous research has indicated that heated political debates online can lead to increased levels of emotional distress and that individuals have the capacity to become addicted to a variety of activities that take place on the internet. Using the theoretical lens of the social identity model of individuation effects, this study explored the impact of online political incivility on the mental health of individuals who engage in this type of behavior. This study also explored whether individuals who engage in this type of behavior find the behavior to be compulsive in nature. A generic qualitative approach was used in this study. Thirteen participants were recruited via fliers on social media sites and via Facebook advertising. Participants answered a series of semistructured interview questions regarding their experiences of engaging in online political uncivil debates. Interviews were conducted via email, video chat, or telephone. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants reported anger as well as symptoms similar to symptoms of addiction and mental illness as identified in the DSM 5 This study was designed to provide an improved understanding of how this behavior impacts the mental health of those who engage in it, and whether this behavior is compulsive or addictive in nature. This information could promote positive social change by helping clinical psychologists better understand this behavior in order to provide improved treatment for their patients