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Background – Within a span of 25 years, internet has become pervasive and a part of more than one fourth of the households in India. Youth and emerging adults are unique in terms of being the first generation to have grown up using this technology. While it offers its own advantages, unregulated and uncontrolled usage of the internet has also been associated with several psychiatric co-morbidities.
Aims and Objectives-
To estimate the extent of internet usage, patterns of usage and addiction to internet
To describe the association of internet addiction with socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, depression, stress, anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Material and Methods – A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed among medical students. A self administered semi structured questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographic characteristics. Standardized scales utilized in the study included Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Depression, Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS21), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Adult ADHD Self-report Scale (ASRS). Descriptive statistics, chi square test and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis.
Results – 301 students were included in the analysis, 99 (32.9%) males and 202 (67.1%) females predominantly aged between 19 – 26 years. 44(14.6%) of the students were moderately and severely addicted to internet based on cut off scores on IAT. Internet addiction had statistically significant association with depression (p<0.001), anxiety (p<0.001), stress (p<0.001), ADHD (p<0.001) and poor sleep quality (p<0.001).
Conclusion - Self assessment of internet usage should be promoted for enabling these young adults to identify, regulate and balance internet usage. Thus, could be helpful in alleviating associated psychiatric problems.
