Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Pre-University Students

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Pre-university students are increasingly exposed to smartphones and online platforms, making them more vulnerable to excessive internet use. Prolonged and uncontrolled internet engagement can affect their sleep, academic performance, emotional wellbeing and daily functioning. As digital dependency continues to rise among adolescents, understanding the prevalence of internet addiction in this group is essential for early identification and for planning interventions that promote healthy technology use and support their overall wellbeing.                

OBJECTIVES:

1. To estimate the prevalence of internet addiction among pre-university students of Belagavi.


2. To determine the association between place of residence and level of internet addiction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 340 randomly selected students from urban and rural area of Belagavi district to assess the internet addiction.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS software, descriptive data was analyzed using percentages and inferential data by chi-square test.

RESULTS: (55%) of students showed severe level of internet addiction majority from urban areas.

CONCLUSION: The study revealed that majority of students showed severe levels of internet addiction.