Extent and pattern of problematic internet use among school students from Delhi: Findings from the cyber awareness programme

Fatigue due to smartphone use? Investigating research trends and methods for analysing fatigue caused by extensive smartphone usage: A review

BACKGROUND: The easy accessibility of smartphones has led to a fivefold increase in their use. People use smartphones almost anywhere, including during travelling and studying. During the global COVID-19 pandemic, the average smartphone screen time has increased from 2.25 to 4.8 hours per day. In India, smartphone usage increased by 68%, and the average screen time increased from 2.42 to 6.9 hours. This dependency on smartphones has led to smartphone addiction. Inappropriate postures during the prolonged use of smartphones can exert adverse effects such as musculoskeletal disorders, digital eye strain, loss of focus and attention. OBJECTIVES: This study was undertaken to understand the effects of prolonged smartphone utilisation and explored fatigue measurement techniques. METHODS: A total of 130 studies examining the effects of smartphone utilisation published in the previous 10 years were identified from the following databases: IEEE, Science Direct, PubMed, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar are reviewed. This study was conducted from September 2019 to January 2021. RESULTS: One in every four adolescents were prone to smartphone addiction, which causes poor mental health. Moreover, India’s research on the effects of excessive smartphone usage is limited. CONCLUSIONS: Studies are required to establish the correlation between fatigue levels and smartphone usage patterns.

The pattern of problematic internet use and mental health-related internet use among psychiatric outpatients at a tertiary care center

Objective

There is scarce literature available on the pattern of problematic internet use (PIU) and use of internet for mental health help-seeking among adult patients with psychiatric disorders in South-East Asian countries. The present study aimed to understand the pattern of PIU among adult patients attending the outpatient psychiatry services at a tertiary care center in India. Further, it aimed to explore the use of internet for seeking mental health-related information or services among them.

Materials and Methods

This cross-sectional study recruited adult outpatients attending the outpatient psychiatry services following purposive sampling between June 2018 and December 2018. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information regarding sociodemographic characteristics and internet use pattern of participants, including use of internet for various mental health-related purposes. The Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS-2) was used to assess the PIU. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 23.0 software.

Results

Among 155 study participants, 45 (29.03%) scored above 60 on GPIUS-2. Those with PIU were significantly younger, reported higher duration of daily internet use, and spent greater proportion of time online on activities related to social networking or social media than those with and without PIU. More than half of the participants reported internet use for seeking mental health-related information at least once in the past 1 month. There was no significant difference in the mental health-related internet use among adult patients with different psychiatric diagnoses, except for two situations. There was lesser use of internet for seeking information related to the symptoms of illness and various treatment modalities available among participants diagnosed with psychotic disorder. On the other hand, a greater use of internet for seeking information related to the symptoms of illness was reported by participants diagnosed with anxiety disorder.

Conclusion

This study suggested that PIU is a frequently cooccurring condition among adult patients with primary psychiatric disorder. The importance of internet as a medium for seeking mental health information and services was observed among most of the study participants.

Prevalence and pattern of problematic internet use among engineering students from different colleges in India

INTRODUCTION

The college students are prone to use internet in a manner that could negatively affect several aspects of their life. The present study is one of the largest studies to be undertaken in India, aimed at understanding the existing pattern of internet use and estimating the prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) among college students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale 2 (GPIUS-2) was used to assess the PIU. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to ascertain the relationship between GPIUS-2 total score and demographic and internet use-related variables.

RESULTS

Of 3973 respondents from 23 engineering colleges located in the different parts of the country, about one-fourth (25.4%) had GPIUS-2 scores suggestive of PIU. Among the variables studied, older age, greater time spent online per day, and use of internet mainly for social networking were associated with greater GPIUS-2 scores, indicating higher risk for PIU. Students who used internet mainly for academic activities and during evening hours of the day were less likely to have PIU.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests PIU among engineering college students in India is an important public health concern. There is a need to create awareness among students, emerging adults, parents, and concerned authorities about the harms associated with PIU. Furthermore, there is a need to implement preventive strategies for inculcating pattern of safe and healthy internet usage among them. In addition, there is a need to develop public health policies for prevention and treatment of PIU and conduct further research to enhance our understanding about the same.

Correlates of Problematic Internet Use among college and university students in eight countries: An international cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Internet use has increased worldwide exponentially over the past two decades, with no up-to-date cross-country comparison of Problematic Internet Use (PIU) and its correlates available. The present study aimed to explore the pattern and correlates of PIU across different countries in the European and the Asian continent. Further, the stability of factors associated with PIU across different countries were assessed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An international, cross-sectional study with a total of 2749 participants recruited from universities/colleges of eight countries: Bangladesh, Croatia, India, Nepal, Turkey, Serbia, Vietnam, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants completed the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale -2 (GPIUS2) assessing PIU, and the Patient Health Questionnaire Anxiety-Depression Scale (PHQ-ADS) assessing the depressive and anxiety symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 2643 participants (mean age 21.3 ± 2.6; 63% females) were included in the final analysis. The overall prevalence of PIU for the entire sample was 8.4% (range 1.6% to 12.6%). The mean GPIUS2 standardized scores were significantly higher among participants from the five Asian countries when compared to the three European countries. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were the most stable and strongest factors associated with PIU across different countries and cultures.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The PIU is an important emerging mental health condition among college/university going young adults, with psychological distress being the strongest and most stable correlate of PIU across different countries and cultures in this study. The present study highlighted the importance of screening university and college students for PIU.

Problematic internet use in Bangladeshi students: The role of socio-demographic factors, depression, anxiety, and stress

Problematic Internet Use (PIU) has become a concern for public mental health across the globe. However, there are few studies assessing PIU in Bangladesh. The present cross-sectional study estimated the prevalence rate of PIU and its associated risk factors among 405 university students in Bangladesh between June and July 2018. The measures included sociodemographic questions, internet and health-related variables, the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). The prevalence of PIU was 32.6% among the respondents (cut-off score of ≥50 on the IAT). The prevalence of PIU was higher in males in comparison to females, although the difference was not statistically significant. Internet-related variables and psychiatric comorbidities were positively associated with PIU. From the unadjusted model, more frequent use of the internet and more time spent on the internet were identified as strong predictors of PIU, whereas the adjusted model showed depressive symptoms and stress only as strong predictors of PIU. It is hoped this preliminary study will facilitate further study on PIU along with other psychiatric disorders in Bangladesh.

Online course on basics of management of behavioral addictions involving use of internet: Observations from the first batch of participants

Problematic internet use has been reported to be high among school students. An online course was developed with an aim to strengthen the capacity of school teachers and counsellors on early identification, detection and intervention for behavioral addictions involving use of internet. The current report presents the observation from the first batch of participants of this course. Of the 28 teachers and counselors who expressed interest by enrollment in the course, a total of 15 participants provided both the pre and post course evaluation forms. The preliminary findings suggest that the online course is feasible, acceptable and effective in strengthening the capacity of school teachers and counsellors on behavioral addictions involving use of internet.

Psychometric properties of Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT) in Urdu language

Internet Addiction Disorder is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled obsessions, cravings, or manners regarding Internet use that lead to real life conflicts. In this study assessed psychometric properties of Internet Addiction Scale in Urdu. Data were collected from 506 participants and were analyzed using SPSS v23. We found 4 factors which were named; salience, conflict, tolerance and mood modification. These factors showed strong correlation among them. Further the items in the factors are comparable to other studies. The IAT was found to be psychometrically sound for measuring internet addiction among Urdu speaking population.

Problematic internet use and its correlates among resident doctors of a tertiary care hospital of North India: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Problematic Internet use/ Internet addiction (IA) has gained the attention of mental health professionals recently and studies have found that medical professionals are not immune to IA with prevalence rate ranging from 2.8 to 8%. Few studies from India have also reported high rates of IA among medical students. The term 'Problematic internet use' is being increasing used nowadays in place of IA as it signifies a better terminology than the word 'addiction' per se. However, there is lack of information among resident doctors.

AIM

To evaluate the prevalence of problematic Internet use and its association with depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and health care outcomes among resident doctors working in a government funded tertiary care Institute.

MATERIALS & METHODS

An online e-mail survey was carried out among medical professionals (a total of 1721 doctors) in a tertiary care hospital located in Chandigarh, India out of whom 376 responded. The residents doctors were the postgraduate trainees (MBBS) and those residents who have complete post-graduation and working as senior residents/registrar (MBBS, MD/MS). They were in the age group ranging from 24 to 39 years. The survey included Young's Internet addiction test (IAT), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory and a self designed questionnaire to assess the health care related outcomes.

RESULTS

On IAT, 142 residents (37.8%) scored <20 i.e., normal users and 203 residents (54%) had mild addiction. Only 31 residents (8.24%) had moderate addiction category, none of the residents had severe IA (score>80). Those with IA reported higher level of depressive symptoms, perceived stress and burnout. There was positive association between ever use of alcohol and watching pornography (as a part of recreational activities) with IA. Significantly higher proportion of those with IA, reported having faced physical abuse and verbal abuse in the hands of the patients/caregivers.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggests that about 8.24% of resident doctors have Problematic internet use/IA. Problematic internet use/IA is associated with presence of higher level of depressive symptoms, perceived stress and burn out. Further, Problematic internet use/IA is also associated with higher likelihood of facing violence in the hands of patients and their caregivers.