University Students' Internet Addiction Levels Under Various Variables

Abstract

Purpose of this study was to examine the internet addiction levels of university students under various variables. In the study, the level of internet addiction was compared with variables such as gender, physical exercise patterns, accommodation preference, marital status of the family, cigarette and alcohol consumption, grade point average, frequently used social media platform type, daily time spent on internet. A total of 250 university students, 78 females and 172 males, with an average age of 21.52 ± 2.88, participated in the study on a voluntary basis. In the research, the 20-clause “Internet Addiction Scale” developed by Young (1998) was used for data collection tool. Results showed that the internet addiction point average of the students participating in the research was below 49 points which falls into without risk zone. However, internet addiction levels varied according to various variables. Within the scope of the study, it would be possible that daily internet use of 8 hours or more may lead to the average of risky internet addiction score, and that students who have smoking or alcohol addiction may be more prone to internet addiction.