Correlates of Social Anxiety and Internet Addiction of Higher Education Students

The research examined the spread of internet addiction among tertiary institution students in Osun State and examine the connection between social anxiety and internet addiction. The research used descriptive survey research methodology. A sample of 1,430 students were picked to be involved in the research using multi-stage sampling methodology. Information were gathered using an instrument titled ″Social Anxiety and Internet Addiction Questionnaire (SAIAQ). Information gathered were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Specifically, research questions one, two and three were answered using percentages and frequency counts. Research hypotheses one, two and four were tested using Pearson product moment correlation while hypotheses three, five and six were tested using ordinal logistic regression, multiple regression analysis respectively. The outcome indicated that majority of participants (56.78%) exhibited little degree of internet addiction, while 23.63% and 15.01% exhibited moderate and severe levels of internet addiction respectively. The research also revealed a significant positive relationship between social anxiety and internet addiction among the students (r=0.261, p=0.000). The research inferred that social anxiety is potent factor that could trigger internet addiction of students and exhibition of internet addiction would reduce more with students’ age.